Fallen Souls
by phoenixreal
Summary: Canon Divergent. Ichigo loses his powers, but moves on with his life. He doesn't really know what to do with himself, but he feels lost, alone, and unable to find himself without being a Shinigami. A late night walk to clear his head finds him in the wrong place at the wrong time. Believing he's run away, everyone lets him go. Some don't believe that he ran. RenjiXIchigoXUryuuXChad
1. It All Falls Down

**Fallen Spirits**

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 _A/N: Welcome readers. Seems like some folks don't get the memo around here._

 _MIND THE WARNINGS. NOT REPEATED._

 _This is a canon divergent fanfiction. Characters are generally in canon until the end of the Fake Karakura Town Arc. After that, changes have been made to events that may not be discussed in this story. In some cases._

 _Warnings_

 _This is a hardcore yaoi fanfiction. This is rated MA. This contains explicit sexual content. This story includes humiliation, non-consensual slavery, forced bondage, forced prostitution, brothels, sexual torture and rape. This story also contains graphic violence, depictions of human trafficking, drug use and sale, and physical/mental/sexual torture. There are graphic consensual sexual acts. This story is not intended to be read by individuals under the age of 18._

 _Disclaimer_

 _I do not claim ownership of any part of the Bleach universe or of the Bleach characters. Tite Kubo owns this amazing world; I am simply playing within it. Original elements do belong to me. There is no copyright infringement intended and I in no way make money from writing or posting this work of fanfiction._

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 **Chapter One**

 _It All Falls Down_

* * *

 _Ichigo – Karakura Town_

 _Day 1 (Saturday) – 2:48 am_

Ichigo kicked a rock as he wandered down the road. He was thoughtful. How could he not be? Spring break was almost over, and he was supposed to start University in a week. He had no interest in it anymore though. He was tired and honestly he was lonely. He didn't feel connected to anyone, not anymore. He'd had trouble sleeping after dinner discussion over school with his father. Discussion of his future always made him exhausted. Even though he never spoke it, he didn't want to be here. He wanted to be somewhere else, with someone else, but he could never do that. Especially when he couldn't even see the someone that he was missing if they were standing in front of him.

Losing all of his powers as a Shinigami had taken a toll on him. It was so much harder than he let others know about, though. He could see the pity in his human friends' faces. He hated that. He hated that they wouldn't even talk about Soul Society around him. He hated that they wouldn't even mention the world Shinigami or hollow where he could hear them. He hated that they just thought he couldn't handle it. He wasn't going to fall apart if they mentioned how things were going in Soul Society. He wanted to know how they were. It had been more than a year now. Even Chad, Orihime, and Uryū avoided talking about what happened there around him. He knew that Urahara was even training Karin. It hurt a lot more than he liked that he'd simply been forgotten.

He sighed and leaned back against a building and looked up into the night sky. He didn't know what he was doing. He had to pretend like none of it ever happened. He had to act normal and forget what had been a big part of his life. Depressing didn't begin to describe how he felt. He'd tried so hard to just get over in and move on, but he couldn't. He missed Zangetsu. He missed the stupid white faced hollow bastard. He missed feeling like he could protect the people he loved from anything. He couldn't now, not at all. He was a weak, worthless, and powerless human. That was all he was. That was all he'd ever be.

They didn't know, though. They never asked him how he felt about it. They just ignored it. Somehow, knowing his father was a Shinigami made it worse. At any time, he could just go back, pick up where he left off, and live on in the world he wanted to be in. More than once he'd wondered if he could get back there by severing his link to his human body. In human terms, he'd be killing himself, of course. He knew, though, that he wouldn't really kill himself. He'd go on to Soul Society. However, without his reiatsu, he feared that not only would he not be able to become a Shinigami there, but he would simply reenter the cycle of rebirth and never know anything more. Then again, would that be so bad? At least then, he wouldn't have this ache inside of him. It was ironic, now with no power at all, he felt completely hollow inside.

He sighed and pushed off the wall and reached to check the time on his phone. He sighed. It was almost three am. He was sure that no one realized he'd gone. He kept going back to the conversation at dinner.

 _Earlier, Day -1 (Friday)_

 _Approximately 7:00_

 _"So, my wonderful intelligent son, tell me what you are studying?" Isshin asked with a broad grin._

 _Karin and Yuzu sat on the other two sides of the table. Karin had helped Yuzu cook a little, but as usual, Yuzu was the cook in the house. She'd made a very large meal tonight, mostly because it was the last weekend before the spring break ended._

 _"Yeah,_ _Oniisan_ _, what will you be taking?" Yuzu asked with a smile._

 _"I don't know," he said and pushed the food about his plate without much interest. "I signed up for the basics for the first semester until I figure out what I want to do."_

 _Karin nodded. The girls were starting their year three of junior high. He was glad they seemed happy with their studies. Karin had taken a lot of time for her soccer, and Yuzu had also been doing well in all areas. Ichigo thought they'd be top of their class in high school._

 _"You could follow in your old dad's footsteps and be a doctor," Isshin said with a broad grin._

That statement had been what had done it. Ichigo knew that his father didn't mean to say something that would cut him as deeply as it did. But he couldn't help it. Following in his father's footsteps…something he couldn't really do. His father, the Shinigami captain, the man who could still wield a Zanpakutō and kill hollows. He was a doctor to the human world, but that wasn't who he had been in the beginning.

 _Ichigo didn't show the sudden pang of hurt. "Ah, I don't know, Pop. I might just take basics until I figure out what I want to do. I don't think being a doctor is my thing."_

 _Isshin smiled at him. "Whatever you decide, son, that is fine. I can't tell you how proud your mother would be of you right now. Graduating high school at the top of your class, you have done me and her proud."_

 _Ichigo nodded and stood up. Karin looked at him. "You barely ate, Ichigo," she said with a frown._

 _"Yeah, maybe coming down with a summer cold, just not hungry," he said and headed up the stairs._

 _He went into his room and sat on the bed for a long time staring out the window. In his mind he saw Renji or Rukia leaping into his room. He saw himself yelling at them to get out of his room without permission like that. He saw the door to his closet opening and Rukia yelling at him to move his ass. He sighed and wondered if he could ever be happy like that again. Even at the worst, nearly dying in Hueco Mundo to get Orihime back, he had been happy. He'd felt useful. He'd felt needed. Now, he was another teenager doing nothing important with his life._

 _His eyes went to the small table by the bed and he felt temptation creeping into him. It had been weeks, so many weeks, but here were the old feelings rising in his chest. It had started a month after he'd watched Rukia vanish along with his powers. He swallowed thickly and felt his hand tremble as he reached over to the drawer. He fished around and pulled out the small knife. It wasn't anything impressive, or big, it was just a small pocketknife. The case was black, and he'd taken another knife and scratched an image of his substitute Shinigami badge into it. He didn't want to forget it. The day he'd done that, that had been the first time. He bit his lip as he flicked it open. The silver metal glinted and he stared for a long time. He shouldn't do this. He didn't need to do this._

 _But he did need to do it._

 _He closed his eyes and then slid his pants down, uncovering the scars on the top of his thighs. Most were white now. After all, the most serious episodes had occurred close to the time his powers stopped functioning. He ran a finger over some of the pinkish lines. Every color of scar, he remembered vividly what had happened._

 _The oldest were when he broke down the first time two weeks after it ended. He had found the pocketknife in the park and he'd seen a branch fall from a tree with a crash. He'd gotten up and saw what looked like claw marks in it. It had to have been a hollow, and that meant that whoever was on duty in Karakura Town was after it. He'd taken a shower, and come out and sat on the bed staring at the knife. He didn't remember grabbing it though. He just remembered watching blood slide down the inside and outside of his thighs as he slid the knife through the skin. It was dull, and he had only made three good cuts. He was silently crying when he stopped. He just sat there and watched himself bleed._

 _The next ones had been not long after that. Uryū and Orihime had been in a quiet discussion in the back of the classroom and when he came near, they'd stopped talking. They both gave him nervous smiles, and he'd know they were talking about hollows or Soul Society. Then the next set happened when Chad, Orihime, and Uryū all disappeared for two weeks with no real explanation other than a sudden trip out of town. When they got back, Ichigo asked what had happened. None of them would tell him. He'd cut almost too deep then, and he had worried he'd have to have his dad put stitches in it. That one had healed badly, leaving a thick scar. There were several others, some with two lines others with five or six. Small incidents, noting major, just incidents that left him lonely. Even Orihime had stopped flirting with him, which was a blessing, but it still was odd. Then, today. He hadn't cried since the first time, but now as he sat there he did. He slid through the old scars, because today was more pain than he could handle. He was numb, so very numb, and he just wanted to feel again._

 _There were seven on each leg when he was done. The blood was pooling under him. For a moment he just stared at it. He'd started nearly at the top of his thigh and gone halfway down. He'd never done so much at one time. He swallowed and realized he didn't have anything to clean up the blood. He kicked off the pants he was wearing and used them to staunch the bleeding. After a few minutes he sighed and saw that there was only a little blood oozing. He grabbed his robe and threw it on to shower. The shower was hot and it stung his legs horribly but that was fine._

He sighed, hands rubbing down the front of his thighs. He'd found some gauze pads and paper tape in the bathroom. He'd covered the marks as well as he could, but he'd left the pants he'd bloodied there under his bed. He'd have to figure out what to do with that when he got back. The same for the knife he'd left on the bedside table. He even thought he'd forgotten to clean it off. He had thought about sleeping but he just couldn't. So he'd just decided to go for a walk. He sighed and turned to head back. He supposed he should come back before someone found the mess and asked questions. At least he'd remembered to take his phone with him.

Ichigo stopped suddenly and turned around. He swore he'd heard footsteps behind him. There wasn't anyone there. He shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket to hold. It wasn't like he was afraid of anyone out here. He could more than handle himself. He could certainly fend off anyone that thought it was a good idea to mug him. He stopped again and swore he heard someone. What the hell was this? Was it someone from Soul Society messing with him? He hoped not because that would just be too cruel for words. He shook his head and kept walking.

"Hey, Anaki," came a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw that in the yard he just passed, a little girl was standing there with a doll in her arms. She was in a nightgown.

Ichigo looked around and walked toward her. "What in the world are you doing out here at this time of night?" he asked.

The little girl was about seven or eight, and she had big, dark eyes. Her hair was light brown and in two high pigtails on her head. The nightgown was long and edged in pink lace on plain white. The doll was dressed in a matching gown, and had bright pink hair. She smiled at him. "Can you help me, Anaki?"

Ichigo frowned and knelt down in front of her. "Yeah, can I call someone for you? Do you live nearby?" he asked.

"Yes, Anaki, but there was a dog in my yard so I ran away and now I'm scared to go back on my own," she said with eyes that looked about to tear up.

Ichigo smiled at her. "Hey, it's okay, I'll walk with you. You sure you don't want me to call your mom?"

She shook her head, pigtails bouncing. "No, Anaki, she'll be mad that I came outside. I heard a kitty cat outside the window, and I went out to see why it was meowing. The dog was chasing it, but I ran from the dog."

Ichigo nodded and stood up. "Okay, here, we'll go together," he said with a smile.

She skipped a bit now and then as she led him down the sidewalk. He was tempted to call the police, but he felt good about this. Someone needed him. He could do something for this little girl, and he could help her. That felt really good for the first time in a long time. He smiled to himself and thought that maybe he should become someone that helps others. Other than a doctor, of course. He didn't want anything to do with that. That was too close to his father, and then he'd remember everything about the Shinigami. Police maybe? Or maybe a social worker. He could work in child care, but he'd have to get used to kids. Then again, he had done a lot with Karin and Yuzu when they were little. Maybe the future wasn't as bleak as he made it out to be.

They were coming out of the residential area, though, and he was beginning to wonder where this girl's house was. He looked around and watched as the trees and bushes that lined the sidewalks dwindled away and the lights from the street lamps faded around them. She kept walking, though, humming a little tune as she went. She'd look back at him and smile now and then.

"Where do you live? We're leaving the neighborhoods…this is where the warehouses are," he said as the manicured lawns gave way to concrete and fences.

"Just over here, Anaki, behind this building. We have a little house. We don't have much money, so we live out here," she said and kept leading him by the hand. This was weird, he thought.

She stopped outside a warehouse and looked around. "I think I'm lost, Anaki," she said with a sigh. "Let me run and check what street we're on," she said and dashed away.

"Hey, wait!" he called but she was gone. He looked around realized that he didn't know where he was. He shook his head and took out his phone. He would just call Uryū or Chad.

Surprised did not describe how he felt when his phone was knocked out of his hand. He looked up to see a guy standing there with some sort of covering over his lower jaw and glittering eyes above it. He was wearing black, and had a stocking cap covering the rest of his head. Ichigo didn't know what this guy's game was, but he wasn't going to find out. He may not be a Shinigami anymore, but he'd been trained by them how to fight. There was no way he was going down by this guy. He figured if he knocked him back, he'd run the direction the girl went. He really didn't want that little girl to get hurt by these guys. He swung around and kicked him in the stomach then up into the jaw. He turned to run in time to be punched hard enough to knock him flat to the ground from the other direction. He felt blood running from his mouth and he looked up to see another guy, dressed like the first one, but a whole lot bigger.

"The hell is this?" he asked as he got to his feet.

Were these guys kidnappers after that little girl? Had they followed them here? He knew he'd heard someone before, but he hadn't seen anyone. Two humans shouldn't be a problem, he thought to himself. He knew how to take down bigger guys that this one. He'd sparred with his father before he was trained by the Shinigami, and now he was faster and stronger than before. He may not have had the unnatural speed from before, but he was a hell of lot quicker on his feet than most people.

They didn't answer as the bigger one moved on him. He was slow though, and Ichigo had no trouble side stepping him and landing a few quick blows on him. He left him gasping and wheezing where he knelt. He dodged the faster one, but he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to dodge him forever at this rate. He had no idea what was going on but he didn't want to find out. Finally, he managed to kick the guy across the side of the face, hearing a low grunt as he hit the ground. He turned and ducked another swing with a billie club from a guy that came up behind him. He wondered exactly how many of these bastards there were? That was three. He managed to land a hard right into that one's jaw and sent him sprawling. He was about to take a breath and the first one, the quicker one, was back up with blood and a very crooked nose. He managed to duck under another wild swing and he saw the metallic glitter on his knuckles. Oh, that was great, he had metal knuckles. He dropped under a second with the other hand but caught a glancing blow to his temple enough that he staggered for a second. These guys didn't give up. Luckily, the big one was still wheezing on his knees and the other one hadn't gotten up.

In a way, it was nice to prove to himself that he could still fight without his powers. The fourth one dropped down from the wall beside them. He ducked him and used the one that was wheezing to block another kick from this guy. Where were all these guys coming from? He managed to get behind this one and landed five blows up his spine with the last at the back of his head. He dropped below another swing with the billie club wielding guy. He'd gotten up at some point. Despite his ability, he was panting and wearing thin. Probably had something to do with losing blood earlier. With the fighting though, he felt blood soaking through his sweats already from the wounds opening again. It stung a bit, but he was too up on adrenaline to really take not of it. He managed to snag the one with the billie club and throw him into the one with the metal knuckles, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The wheezing big guy tried to grab him but he dodged his sluggish moves easily. He looked up the road and saw the little girl watching him.

"Run!" he screamed at her as he spun and kicked the one that had the bloody nose right across it again. He was going to need some help fixing that, he thought to himself as the guy yelped in pain. He looked around and all four were down or too far away to get to him. The girl was just standing there. She needed to run; why wasn't she running?

Dammit! He figured he'd have to grab her and run with her to get away from this group. Just as he was about to take off, the back of his head exploded in white hot pain and the world went vividly bright for a second. He fell forward to his knees and saw the world start to fade slowly around him. He had time to realize that there were more than four of them, he saw maybe three more surrounding him as he fell forward to the concrete. He realized that they weren't after the little girl. They had been after him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin, Karin, Yuzu – Karakura Town

Day 1 (Saturday) – 8:10 am

"Oniisan!" Yuzu yelled up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready!" She waited for a minute and glanced back to the kitchen. "That's strange, I'll go get him," she said as she headed up the stairs.

She knocked on the door and got no response. She frowned and knocked again. When there was still no response, she opened the door.

"Oniisan?" she asked.

The room was empty. She frowned and checked the other rooms before returning to the kitchen. "Pop, Oniisan isn't in his room."

Isshin looked up. "Well, he must have gone over to someone's house, strange that he wouldn't say anything to us…" he muttered as he picked up his phone.

He texted him and waited. _Son, did you go to a friend's this morning?_

 _Yo, found this phone, you know the owner?_ Came a response.

Isshin blinked at the screen. _It belongs to my son. Can you bring it to Kurosaki Clinic today?_

 _Sure, I'm not far from there._

"What is it, goat face?" Karin asked.

Isshin shook his head. "Um, guess he lost his phone somewhere," he said with a shrug as he dialed Uryū's phone.

"Kurosaki-san, what do you need?" came the young Quincy's voice.

"Is Ichigo with you?" he asked, starting to get a little concern.

There was a pause. "No, I haven't seen him much over the break. I tried to talk to him last week about our University classes, but he said he was busy."

Isshin frowned. "Alright, I'll check with Chad and Arisawa."

After calls to both of them that revealed they didn't know where he'd gone either, he sat and stared at the phone. The door to the clinic rang then, so he headed over and answered it. A young man in a uniform stood there. It looked like he worked at one of the warehouses on the edge of Karakura. "Here, man," he said as he handed him Ichigo's phone.

"Where did you find this?" he asked, seeing that the screen was cracked.

"Went in to work this morning and kicked it by the warehouse. I think it was already broken though, I didn't kick it very far. Still works, though," he said with a shrug.

"Oh…thank you very much. I'll take care of it."

Isshin went back in and sat the phone down. "Is that Oniisan's phone?" Yuzu said as she picked it up. "It's broken! Ichi-nii never mistreats his phone…"

Karin looked at it. "I've never seen him drop the thing, let alone let it get this messed up. Where was it?"

"The guy found it by the warehouses," he said thoughtfully.

"Where's Ichigo?" Karin said with a frown.

Isshin sat down and sighed. "I…I can only think of one reason he'd ditch his phone. You saw how he was acting yesterday." He sighed deeply. "I…I think he might have taken off on his own."

Karin looked at him. "What? Why?"

Isshin looked at her. "He's been depressed for a long time, since he came back. He's been distant, and since he left high school, he's just been avoiding talking about what he wants to do with his life. But we'll wait and see, I'll ask around some more, but if he's left, we might need to let him be. He may need to find himself on his own. I think that he needs space and we haven't been giving him any."

Yuzu and Karin exchanged glances. They could not deny that Ichigo had been distant and avoiding any discussion about the future. They didn't want to admit that he'd leave them, but they both knew he might.

By the time two days had passed, no one had heard from him. Isshin wasn't sure what to do. He called and reported his absence to the police. They told him that they doubted anything could be done since he was old enough to do what he wanted. They informed him that kids his age that disappeared were usually not interested in being found. Isshin didn't want to hear it. He sat at the table and felt the world crush him.

"I failed, Masaki," he whispered and wondered if there was anything worse than this. "I couldn't do the one thing you would have wanted me to do; I couldn't protect him."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Chad, Renji – Karakura Town

Day 3 (Monday) – 5:20 pm

"What?" Rukia said with more than a small amount of shock. "What are you saying?"

Orihime looked at her with tearful eyes. "He's gone, Rukia. He left the other night, and no one knows where he went."

Rukia glanced at Renji and back at Orihime. "Why would he do that?"

Renji and Rukia had come for a visit, stopping at Urahara's Shoten to see how everything was going. Orihime, Chad, and Uryū were already there to let Urahara know what had happened. He had been disappointed, but frankly, unsurprised.

"He has not dealt well with losing his Shinigami abilities," Urahara said with a sigh. "I think that Karakura Town was too hard for him to deal with. I know he had mentioned to me before his powers faded finally that he wasn't sure if he could stay in Karakura. I believe that with his future looming ahead, he finally came to that point that he needed to leave."

Renji looked around. "You aren't serious? You think he would actually leave without telling someone, anyone?"

Chad looked up and locked eyes with Renji. "I agree. Ichigo would never leave Karakura Town. His mother is buried here. He would never abandon his sisters no matter what happens."

Urahara glanced between them. "I don't think so this time. I believe that Ichigo finally hit his breaking point. We have asked so much of him. He lost the things that he became, and he sacrificed so much for all of us. He deserves to be allowed a life that doesn't cause him pain."

Renji stood up. "No, I don't accept it. I can't. He wouldn't just leave."

Rukia looked at him. "Renji, please, you know how he wants to protect others. He had so much power, and it was all taken away from him."

"No, there's no way he'd run. Leave, maybe, but he'd tell someone that. He wouldn't leave and let people wonder what happened to him," he said, truly becoming annoyed by those around the table.

"There's nothing to be done," Isshin said from the doorway. The others looked up at him. "I reported him as missing, but he's eighteen, and they said unless there's evidence of foul play, there's no reason to think he didn't just leave on his own."

Chad nodded. "You found his phone. Where was it?"

Isshin looked at him. "One of the warehouses on the outskirts. It would be consistent if he were leaving and got rid of his phone, it was on the way out of town."

Renji looked at Chad. "Take me there. I want to see."

"I don't know that this is necessary," Uryū said and pushed his glasses up with a sigh.

Renji looked at him. "No, I'm going to find out what happened. Something isn't right here. I can't believe that you don't think so. Come on, Chad," he said and spun on his heal and headed out. Chad stood and walked behind him.

Renji was fuming when he got outside. "I can't believe this!" he growled. He'd gotten his gigai, so he could interact with the world. He sighed. "How can they think Ichigo of all people would run away."

Chad nodded. "He would not."

They stood for a while and then Chad looked at him. "Here, we will go to the warehouses."

Chad took him to the area where the few warehouse at the edge of Karakura sat. They walked around for a while until someone stopped them.

"Hey, you guys looking for something?" the man asked. He wasn't too remarkable.

"Yeah, we're looking for someone who disappeared down here a few days ago. Someone found his phone down here," Renji said and looked around.

The man looked up in thought for a second. "Oh, yeah, Ryō found that phone. Said it was by the back entrance. Busted the fuck up too," he said.

Renji looked at Chad and back at him. "Can you show us?"

"Sure, come on," he said and led them back entrance. "Back here," he said and pointed to the door.

Renji looked around for anything. "Has someone swept or anything back here?"

"Yeah, someone cleans up out here every night," he said. "I mean, they're supposed to sweep off the sidewalk into a dustbin, but they usually just sweet it into the grass."

Chad was already looking around in the grass around the area. "Renji," he said as he knelt down.

"What is it?" he asked and came over.

Chad had found a piece of metal rebar, laying off in the grass. Renji picked it up and looked at it. "Wait, is that…" he muttered and picked out a hair that was wrapped around it. It was bright orangey red in color. Renji ran his fingers down the bar and they came away with dried flakes of red. "This has to be enough. This has to prove something happened to him here…"

Unfortunately, the police disagreed. It was circumstantial. Ichigo wasn't the only person with that kind of hair, and though they could tell it was natural hair, there was no follicle. They determined that the rebar had blood on it, but the sample was so degraded that they couldn't tell who it was from. Renji tried to reason with Isshin, Rukia, and Urahara. They told him that he was seeing clues where they didn't exist. Chad agreed with Renji, though. Renji requested leave from Byakuya, and considering that there were no major incidents lately, he'd allowed him.

Renji and Chad sat on a green field and tried to come up with what they should do. They had no idea. Renji looked at Chad for a long moment. They had nothing, really.

"Why do you need to find him?" he asked finally.

Chad didn't move for a long moment. "There are things I need to tell him. Why do you come here for him?"

Renji sighed and looked at the sky. "I've got to tell him some things too…" he said with a sigh.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo – En Route to Kobe

Day 1 (Saturday) – 4:00 pm

The first thing Ichigo realized was that he hurt. His head was throbbing and he had no idea what was going on. He couldn't see anything but he was moving. It felt like he was in a vehicle of some sort. He groaned and tasted something horrible in his mouth, and there was a fabric gag in his mouth. Both sides of his mouth hurt. He tried to move but his hands were together behind his back and he could barely feel his fingers. The same was true of his ankles. Something was digging into both painfully. He tried to move but he was apparently bound to something behind him because he couldn't even roll off of his side. His heart was pounding in his ears and he had never been so scared in his life. There was no way to fight, no way to get away from this. He was in his worthless human body. He couldn't do anything. Not worthless, he told himself, he did put up a good fight with those guys, but he couldn't break out of this. Plus his head hurt still and he was dizzy.

He'd fallen asleep off and on for what felt like a long time. He had no idea how much time had passed. His stomach told him that it had been a while. He was also parched and his throat clicked dryly when he tried to swallow against the awful taste in his mouth. There was a jostling thump and he felt like if whatever was holding him in place hadn't been there, he would have rolled away from his position. Sudden light flooded the area around him and he squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear talking now.

"How many this time?"

"I think we grabbed eight altogether."

"No witnesses?"

"Nah, little Kie did a good job luring them away from residential."

"What'd you get? Anything special?"

"Eh, got a girl that has some nice tattoos on her legs, got a couple of boys that are real twink bitches, there's that girl there with the blonde hair, natural too, curtains match the drapes. This fucker," and now Ichigo felt a sharp pain in his shoulder ash he was kicked and now the two men that were talking came around.

They weren't masked. One was a tall man with dark hair and a three-piece suit. He looked like he belonged in a board room. The other one wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"This is the fucker that broke three of Shin's ribs, and Stitch's nose. Might have broken Rastlin's wrist too. Took the whole team we had out to bring his ass down."

The man in the suit knelt down and Ichigo saw he had bright blue eyes. "I see, feisty, are we?" he said and reached out and put his hand on Ichigo's face. Ichigo jerked away from him even though he couldn't go anywhere. "Hmm, I know where you're going already. You were a special."

He stood up and looked at the other man. "Any other collateral damage? No stops on the road?"

"Nah, we made it through with wings on. The weight station was smooth. They opened the back, saw the crates and let us go, like silk. Made sure all these bitches were bound up and gagged good. Soaked the gags in some liquid sedative to make sure the ride was smooth."

The man in the suit nodded. "Pull into the loading dock. Move the merchandise into the ground floor. The sale begins in two hours. And try to clean this one up," he said and shook his head at Ichigo. "I do like the buyers to know the quality they're getting. Riyoku brought in five from the north. With these eight, we'll have a decent group for this sale."

Ichigo watched him leave and looked around, the place now lit up. There were others lining the side of what he realized was a truck where he was bound. He saw just forms and shadows. What the hell was this?

It didn't take long before the truck moved again and men came into the back of the truck and began unhooking the figures from the side. When they got to Ichigo, he tried to get away from them but they'd sent two to get him out. He growled at them and tried his damnedest to kick one of them. He nearly got one of them in the face.

"Damn, boss wasn't kidding when he said this one was a handful. He's gonna go to Kukoa I bet."

"Oh, yeah, he'll take him in a second…" the other answered as the dropped him to the floor.

He groaned and rolled over to see he was in a large warehouse. There was a raised platform nearby and chairs were arranged in a semicircle around it. He saw that the others from the truck he'd been in had been dropped nearby. Some were unconscious still, others, like him, were looking around with frightened and confused eyes. After a while a young woman in what looked like a French maid outfit came over with a cloth and started cleaning off some of them. When she knelt down, Ichigo could see under her skirt and she had nothing under it. He looked at her when she came over and knelt by him.

"Aw, you look terrible," she said in a very soft voice. "Don't fight them. You'll only suffer for it. Accept your fate, no one will help you here," she said as she stood and went to the next person.

A few minutes later, the men who unloaded them came over and started cutting the zip ties off the others' legs. They pulled them to a standing position and Ichigo watched as they started cutting away their clothes until they stood there in their underpants. He could see five girls and two other guys. All of them looked to be around late teens and early twenties. He felt himself being lifted up. He was hoping they'd cut his legs free because he was going to do more than break someone's nose.

"Ah, you, heard about you," the man said. He was another different guy. This one had a bald head and a nose ring that glinted in the dim light. "You don't get cut loose even to walk."

Ichigo growled and struggled against the person holding him up from behind as the bald one took his knife and sliced down his t-shirt. He nodded.

"He's fit, that's a good selling point. Boys did a good job this time. None that we can't sell off like last time."

He then slid the knife under the band of his sweat pants and sliced down one leg of them, then the other. Ichigo winced as they pulled them off of him. Mostly because they were stuck to his thighs where he'd reopened the cuts there. He growled at them through the gag and tried to yell various insults, but it just came out muffled.

"Hehe, keep that fire up. You'll lose it real quick, trust me," he said and they drug him toward the platform where they stood behind it with the others.

He saw the seven that had come in with him, and there were four more girls and one more guy being brought in from the opposite side. He looked up as he heard a microphone squeal. His heart stuttered. Wait. Was this what he thought it was? He looked around and realized that the others were far too frightened to be looking around. No, this wasn't possible. He knew this kind of thing happened, but things like this didn't happen to him. They happened to other people…

"Welcome, we'll start the night with our lovely young women. We have four virgin sales, followed by five that have already been deflowered. Now, as usual, if you have put in a pre bid, the bidding will start at that level, and you will be able to compete if anyone rises above you."

Ichigo watched as four of the girls were guided up onto the stage. Ichigo could hear more than one of them choking sobs as the guy began auctioning them off one at a time. Ichigo felt his heart stop. No, he thought to himself. No, this was impossible. After everything he'd gone through, after he became a Shinigami, fought hordes of hollows, went to different worlds…and he'd been abducted by human traffickers of some sort. And he was powerless to get away. The four were led back to the other side and the other five girls were taken up. Ichigo could hear the announcer but not any of the responses.

"Next up, we have our virgin boys," he said and Ichigo felt the guy that was holding him lurch forward. Wait, how the hell did they even know that? He looked over at the other three that had been hauled up. There had only been four of them that were male. "I know, you ask if we're sure, do you think we take their word for it? All have been checked out, nice tight virgin holes, guaranteed. If you disagree, we can discuss it. Get your money's worth. All four have a pre-bid placed on them, so beware, you may not be able to rise above it... "

Ichigo's eyes went wide as he looked down at the other three. They all were wearing similar mortified expressions. Well, there went any idea that this wasn't a sex trafficking ring. Ichigo swallowed and watched as one by one, each of them was drug up beside the auctioneer. He was last in this group.

"Now, this one, you're gonna have trouble with. Already broke one of our guy's ribs, and another one's nose. This one is a fighter, so you're gonna need to keep it in mind, we're not responsible for any damages caused by the product after you take possession. Now, can we start the bidding…"

Ichigo phased out the words and just stared out as there had to be at least fifty men and women in those chairs. What the hell was this?

"Sold, sorry folks, Kukoa is not going to be outdone today on the boys. Thanks for driving the price up, though folks!" he said finally and Ichigo was drug back behind the dais and forced down to his knees with the others that had been sold already. He saw that several of them were weeping and trying very hard not to panic. He watched as there were people that came around and started exchanging money and leaving with some of the girls. All of the girls were sobbing now. One of the boys that was sitting with Ichigo was sobbing too. He wished he had his arms to put one around him.

"Good doing business with you," he heard and saw the man in the three-piece suit exchanging wads of bills with some of the people.

"I'll check the merchandise before I pay, thank you," one of them said.

He was a tall and thin man with fine black hair that was pulled back at the nape of his neck. He walked over toward them and looked down at the four males that had been sold. He knelt down and pulled up one of them by the chin and stared into his face. He reached his fingers into his mouth and looked inside and nodded. He repeated the same with the other two and then did the same with Ichigo. Ichigo tried to glare at him as best as he could. It wasn't very effective, though, considering his position. Ichigo noted that he had a lighter in his hand and was flicking the lid open and closed as he looked them over.

"Not bad, better than the last one you sold me," he said with a sigh. "I nearly had to tell the boss not to use you anymore for the slut runs."

"Kukoa, you know that we had no idea that the one had asthma, if we had we wouldn't have shipped him gagged."

Kukoa sighed and stood up. "I was out a lot of money for that boy. You're sure none of them have been used?"

"I told you that…" the three-piece suit guy said.

"Hmm, forgive me if I don't believe you," he said and went down to the first one of them and did something that made him cry out into his gag. He did something similar to the next one, and then when he got next to Ichigo, he could see what he was doing. He slid his hand down the back of his underwear and then the boy yelped in obvious pain.

"Hmm, this one was the fighter, yes?" he said as he knelt down beside Ichigo.

"Yeah, fancy footwork, good with kicks and pretty damn quick, don't let him get loose or you might never catch him again," the suit said with a smirk as Ichigo was pushed forward and he felt the guy reach down and force a finger inside him. He gagged and tried to get away from it.

"Alright, they're unused. I only take the fresh ones. My clients pay a lot to break in a boy," he said as he turned and gestured to two men in suits.

Ichigo was practically carried to a van that was waiting inside the warehouse. The four of them were pushed to the floor and their hands were all zip tied to a bar that ran along the side of the van. Ichigo looked down at the others and they all knew that this was bad for them. He swallowed hard and felt his stomach flip as they drove for a while. Ichigo had no idea how long, but he thought it was more than an hour. The boy that had started crying in the warehouse was still weeping. Eventually, they stopped with a jolt. All four were ushered out through an underground garage and into an elevator. Ichigo saw that they were going to the top floor of a rather tall building. His stomach would not settle, though. Fear wasn't something he normally felt, but this was one of those times he was feeling it. They were drug out of the elevator into a large, open room. There were sofas and chairs all around it, more than Ichigo had ever seen in a living room. The wall was a bank of windows showing the night sky. There wasn't anyone present at the moment as they were taken into a large bathroom. There was a large open shower in the middle and toilets along the other side. All four were thrown to the floor on the tiles of the shower. The men who had brought them stood one on each side of it.

A pair of young women came into the room and brought with them bags. The four boys watched as one of the girls took out a pair of cuffs that were connected together with chain and started putting them on each of the boys. She then cut the zip ties off. Ichigo was somewhat thankful because feeling rushed into his fingers. He was still bound, but at least he wasn't numb. The other girl began going around and placing similar cuffs on their ankles. She clipped Ichigo's together, though. There was enough chain between them that he could stand but not much else with them. The four goons, as Ichigo referred to them, came up and hefted each of them to their feet. The girls each cut away their remaining clothes. The goon holding Ichigo laughed out loud.

"What?" the one next to him said.

"Hey, look, the curtains match," he said with a snicker. Ichigo's face went red.

"I'll be damned, though he had to dye that shit…" the second said as they were shoved under the sprayers as the girls washed them off from head to toe. Ichigo was more than red at this. Finally they started removing the gags from the others and then Ichigo. Before he could say anything though, he felt a knife being held by the guy behind him at his throat. "Don't say anything," he growled. Ichigo saw the others were in the same position.

They were all fitted with gags that were like horse bits, but made out of rubbery material. They were then drug into another room that had some sort of padding in the floor mats and pillows. The girls and the four goons pushed them down and then left, closing the sliding door behind them. Ichigo got to a sitting position and just stared at the door. No one was going to find him. No one would look. He knew that. He remembered telling Urahara even that he didn't think he'd stay in Karakura Town. Despite himself, he felt tears starting to fall. There was nothing he could do to save himself, not to mention anyone else. But he would try. He had to try. He looked over at the other frightened boys. He would do everything to get them all out of this place.


	2. Voiceless and Faceless

**Fallen Spirits**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _Voiceless and Faceless_

* * *

Renji, Chad – Karakura Town

Day 9 (Sunday) – 11:00 am

Renji wasn't sure just exactly what they were doing as he and Chad sat in the library and went through searches online extensively. They were looking for something, anything really, that would show them possibilities. Despite what the others tried to tell them, they were not going to simply accept that Ichigo Kurosaki, one of the most loyal people they'd ever known, would simply run away. Renji wasn't sure what he was looking for at all, but he just wanted to find anything. He found several reasons for a person to go missing, and he didn't like them. There were too many possibilities. They needed to eliminate some for certain.

Renji sat back frustrated. "We should go to his house and see if his dad will let us look around his room."

Chad nodded. "It might reveal something to us about what he was doing out at that time of night."

That was one of the things they hadn't been able to figure out. Why would Ichigo have left the house after his family had gone to bed? He'd gone upstairs at seven, then Karin and Yuzu had gone to bed at nine. Isshin had been in the living room until almost eleven. That meant that Ichigo would have had to left after that time in order to have gone out without someone seeing him. Before long, they stood outside the house and knocked. They both worried that Isshin would dismiss them out of hand. He opened the door and smiled at them.

"I guess you won't give up," he said.

"No, and I don't understand how you can," Renji growled out.

Isshin nodded. "I haven't given up, Renji. There just isn't anything I can do. He's human. He has no reiatsu anymore, so we can't track him down that way. I talked to a couple private investigators and gave one a retainer to see if he could find out anything. They're not hopeful. Renji, I'm doing what I can. The police believe he's left on his own."

Renji nodded. He supposed he understood. What did he expect him to do? Give up everything and go on a search all over Japan for Ichigo? He sighed. No, that was what he and Chad would do if necessary.

"Okay, can we look around his room? If he did leave, there should be something that indicates why."

Chad nodded to Isshin. Isshin sighed. "If it makes you feel better, please, go ahead. I looked around and didn't find anything out of order with his room."

Chad and Renji headed up to his room and saw that it was, as usual, neat. Renji frowned as he saw that he'd left his yukata lying on the chair. It was the only thing really out of place. Renji picked it up and then looked at Chad. "Yo, look at this."

Renji turned it to the inside and Chad looked at it for a moment. "There's something on the inside. Here."

Chad held it out and Renji slipped into it. He was about the same size as Ichigo, so it would fall on him about the same way. Chad flipped out the front on either side.

"They're lines of blood," Chad said. Renji looked down. It would fall on his legs about his thigh level.

"What the hell?" Renji muttered as he pulled it off and went toward his closet.

Renji looked through the closet. "I don't think any clothes are missing. There's no places with gaps like he took clothes out of it in a hurry. His bag's here, so he didn't take that. I'd think he'd at least take clothes or something with him."

Chad picked up something off the small desk. "This is odd."

Renji turned and saw that he was holding a pocketknife. "That's the symbol like his badge," Renji said as he turned it in his hands. "It's bloody," he said as he saw the dried red stain along the blade side. "But it's just along the cutting edge, like it's cut something, not stabbed something."

Chad sat down on the bed and then noticed that the edge of a pair of Ichigo's jeans was sticking out from under the bed. The rest of the room was neat, except for these jeans and the yukata. He pulled them out and frowned at them. There were dark red blotches of dried blood, but it wasn't like it had dripped, it was like it had been used to wipe it up. Chad sighed and put them beside him on the bed. Renji looked at him.

"What?"

"I think he was cutting himself with that," he said quietly. "The yukata, the knife, and this. He was hurting more than we knew. We should have seen it. We should have helped him."

Renji turned the knife in his hand. "Ichigo, why didn't you say something…" he said under his breath. He put it down and opened the drawer. "Huh, this doesn't look like someone planning on running off," he muttered. "His substitute badge is in here. He wouldn't leave without that, even if it doesn't work anymore." Renji picked it up and put it in his pocket. He would take it to him when they found him.

Chad looked over. Renji started putting things on the bed. "Look, these are flyers for things coming up in the next few months here. He's got dates circled, things he wanted to do. Here's his schedule for school, and he's set to pick his books up…well, yesterday." He rummaged until he found a hard backed journal in the very back. He pulled it out and stared at it. He moved and sat down beside Chad. He did and didn't want to open it. He handed it to Chad. "You…you should look at it, Chad. I mean, you knew him better than me. I feel like I'm invading his privacy."

Chad nodded and opened it. It was a journal, of a sort, but it didn't have conventional entries. It just had random thoughts written throughout it, some with dates, others just in the margins. Chad frowned and flipped to the end. The last date scribbled had been the day he'd disappeared, and there were about ten pages left blank after it.

"The last one," Chad said. "It says 'He doesn't know how much it hurts. I can't ever follow him. Not anymore. My father, the doctor, the Shinigami… No, pop I can't be a doctor. I can't be like you, not ever again. I don't know what, but I will figure it out. For Mom. I will figure it out. I'll try to stop, for you, for him. I'll try but I just don't know that I'm strong enough.'"

Renji took it and thumbed through it, reading aloud some of them to Chad.

 _They don't get it. They can't understand that by saying nothing they're killing me. I can't just erase a whole chunk of my life like this. But I can't say it. It would hurt them even more to know that they're causing me pain._

 _I want to see him. I can't, though. I never realized it, you know, before I couldn't. I just thought I would have forever. I didn't, and now I can't ever go back._

 _I tried to decide today what would happen if I cut too deep. Would he come and perform the Konso? Would I go to Soul Society again? Or would I just fade away, or turn into a ghost alone and lost? No, I don't know. If I knew I'd go there, I could do it. But I don't know. I'd rather suffer with my memories than be free of them and not remember him._

 _Again, and again, they are driving me mad. Talking until I walk past them. I know what they're talking about, I'm not an idiot. So here I am, bloody again. I have to stop this. But I can't._

 _I was doing so good. It was almost two months! All the cuts had healed up. All of them. I was going on, I was moving past it. Then…they came back from wherever they'd gone and wouldn't tell me what happened. Just that it was a short vacation. No it wasn't. You were in Soul Society. You were somewhere and you were helping him. I know it. Now look at this mess…it took almost an hour to stop it from bleeding. I thought I was going to pass out. I can't do this. I can't stop._

 _They need to stop. I can't deal with the looks. Almost a year, and still, they look at me like I can't handle the fact that I've lost everything that made me who I was. They don't know that. I can't handle it, but they don't know that. They just assume. I could hide what I do, if they told me. I could do it and they'd never know. And I keep thinking how much he would be angry with me if he knew I was doing this. And I just…but it doesn't matter._

 _Does he think of me? Do any of them? I feel like I've been forgotten. Like no one remembers that I was a part of their lives. Inoue barely talks to me. And Ishida just looks at me with this look on his face. He, of all people, should know that I don't need his pity. He lost everything once. But he got it back. He's forgotten. Chad's the only one that doesn't treat me like glass. Still, he doesn't speak much._

 _I had the dream again. I could taste in this one. It made me happy, so happy but I woke up and I was alone and I remembered I'd always be that way. His touch, his lips, why do I have to think of that? It isn't like it would have ever happened anyway. He loves someone else so it just is nonsense. At least before, I could pretend. Now it just leaves a hole in my heart. I understand how hollows feel._

 _Chad was here today. I was glad. We talked a while. I wanted to ask how his powers were doing and if he'd had fights with any weird hollows. I wanted to see it again, that power he exudes. But I can't see it so what does it matter. I didn't say anything. I think Chad would answer me if I asked him. But I won't._

 _University. I can't imagine this. I signed up today. I didn't know what classes to take, so I just took English, math, history, and psychology. I think maybe the psychology class might help me understand why I'm so fucked up. Maybe I'll meet other normal people. That's what I am. Normal. I have been good. It's been three months this time. I'm proud of myself. I haven't taken the knife out to even look at in in two weeks. Would he be proud of me too? I like to think he would, but he'd probably be disgusted at how weak I am. It doesn't matter anyway._

Renji looked up at Chad. "How did no one know he was this sad?"

Chad sighed. "Ichigo hides things well. He is hard to understand. He covers pain with smiles. He covers longing with laughter."

Renji tucked the journal against his chest. "I want to keep this. I don't want Kurosaki-san to see it. He'll just think that it confirms he ran away. It doesn't, but he will believe it does. He wants to feel like he's right and that he isn't just giving up."

Chad nodded. "We should take this stuff too," he said and patted the jeans.

Renji nodded and grabbed the knife and closed it. He slipped it into his pocket and took the jeans and the yukata robe. He frowned then he opened the window and tossed them down. "We'll get them after we leave," he said and headed out.

They left, bidding Isshin goodbye and picking up the jeans and the robe. Chad held them as they went to Chad's house. Renji sat on the floor and held the journal in his lap. He stared at it for a long time, and after reading almost the entire thing, he found that Ichigo talked about someone an awful lot. Never any names though. He would say random things about how he didn't know what life was like without "him" and what how he wondered about how "he" was. Maybe if they knew who Ichigo was talking about, they could figure out a little bit about his pain.

"Do you know who he's talking about?" Renji asked after about an hour of sitting silently across from Chad.

Chad shook his head. "I do not. Ichigo rarely revealed his heart to others. It sounds like someone from Soul Society. He says that he cannot see him again."

Renji nodded as he ran a finger down the pages textured with the writing. "He should have gone to Urahara. He should have told him at least. He could have told us. We could have come and used our gigais. We just…we thought that he would be better moving on without us."

"Everyone believed that seeing people from his old life again would hurt him. It appears the hurt came from the opposite. He felt abandoned." Chad held his hands in his lap and sighed.

Renji swallowed. "Okay, we need to come up with a plan. You know the human world. So if someone just disappears, what could have happened to them?"

Chad nodded and thought for a long time. "Running away, but we know that is not true. Abduction. Murder. Amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Renji said. "If he got hit in the head, maybe he was addled?"

Chad nodded slowly. "If he got into trouble, and fought with someone, that may have happened. They hit him with the bar and he was knocked unconscious. When he woke he did not know who he was and wandered."

Renji nodded. "Okay, we'll eliminate options. If he had amnesia, he wouldn't have gone far, if outside of Karakura Town at all, and if he had, someone should have seen him, right?"

Chad nodded. "Yes. We should canvas the town and see if anyone knows anything."

Renji was silent a moment. "What…what about the other two things?"

"If Ichigo had been murdered, I think his body would have been found by now. I do not think that is the case. If someone knocked him out, they wouldn't move him to kill him, he would have been found there."

"And abduction? Why would someone take him?" Renji asked, really curious now as to why someone would do such a thing.

Chad thought for a long time. "I know that sometimes people are taken for a ransom. With Ichigo's father being a doctor, it would be possible someone took him in hopes of getting money out of it. However, Ichigo's father runs a clinic. He does not have money. If he had been taken for a ransom, he would likely not survive because of that."

"But if there was a ransom, we would have heard about it, I'd think, it's been almost a week."

"Sometimes people are kidnapped for politics, but that should not apply to Ichigo. Sometimes people are kidnapped to be sold as slaves, but I don't know if that still happens. Sometimes people are taken by others to be hurt," Chad said with a worried look. "None of these would end well for him."

Renji nodded. "Okay, so the first thing we're going to do is see if he is wandering around with amnesia. Best case is that. We could also check all the morgues and hospitals. I…hope not…but we should if we're going to cover everything in Karakura Town. I mean, I can have Rukia check the Rukongai and see if he's crossed over. I'd think, though, if someone did a Konso on Ichigo Kurosaki, most of Soul Society would know it."

"Agreed," Chad said with a nod of his head. "I will search the town by foot. You can check with the hospitals and emergency clinics. We should come back here by three to see if we've found anything. We know the police have nothing so far."

Chad went over to his bulletin board and pulled off two photos of him with Ichigo. They were a little older, but not more than a year. He handed one to Renji. "Here. People will often remember seeing someone by a photo better than a description."

Renji nodded and they both headed out to start their search for their lost friend. They came back at by three and sat on the floor in Chad's apartment once more.

"I visited every possible place a hurt person could end up. I went to every single place that handles the dead. Nothing. No one that even matched his description. I suppose in a way that's good, right?" Renji said and looked at Chad.

Chad held the photo and shook his head. "I started at the place his phone had been found. I talked to the security guard. The cameras had been vandalized in the area."

"Wait, aren't there cameras along some of the main paths in town? Houses that have security cameras?" Renji asked.

Chad nodded. "Yes."

"What if we walk from Ichigo's house to the warehouse. The path he took should be close to that, right? I can get out of my gigai and take to the air and direct you from above where I see possible paths," Renji said with a growing smile.

"Yes, that would be a way to find things."

They headed back to the nearest path to Ichigo's house. Renji had left his gigai at Chad's place. He leaped to the air and looked around Ichigo's house. "Okay, there's only two ways with paths. Only one leads in the direction of the warehouses," he said and began jumping from light pole to light pole. "Here, there's three paths," he said. "But if he took the right one, he'd be going further away. The one straight ahead, possibly, so let's take the left and first. If you see a house with security camera, stop and ask them if we can see it."

It was almost two hours before Chad found anything. They had probably stopped at seven or eight homes, all were willing to let them see security footage, but none had Ichigo in them. Renji dropped down beside Chad at yet another house. He followed him into the house with the woman that owned it.

"Oh, I always keep the security footage," she said with a smile. She was an older woman with a stooped figure and gray hair. She took Chad into the kitchen and picked up a tablet. "What day was it sweetie?"

"One week from yesterday, I don't know what time. He was last seen at seven that evening, but his father didn't see him leave the house before he went to bed at eleven," Chad said. Renji watched over his shoulder.

She ran the footage at fast pace starting around seven pm. As they watched a blip caught their attention in the early morning hours. "Wait," Chad said. "There."

Chad rewound the video and frowned. "It's Ichigo, what's he doing?"

The video showed Ichigo walking down the sidewalk. He stopped and veered over to the side of the walkway and stood there for a minute before he knelt down and looked like he was talking to someone. He was in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, and his phone was clutched in his hand. He stood up and when he stepped back into the camera range a little girl with a doll was holding onto his hand and pulling him down the path toward the warehouse area.

"Can I have a copy of this file?" Chad asked with a frown.

"Of course, dear," she said and made a file for him and sent it to his email address.

"Thank you very much, Obāsan," he said with a bow.

"You might check at the end of the path, there's Maromaru-san. He has a camera like mine. There were some kids that were stealing his garden gnomes for a while."

Chad nodded. "Thank you again for your help."

She led him back to the door. "Good luck. I hope you find your friend," she said with a smile. Then she turned to Renji and smiled. "It was nice to help you both."

The door closed and Renji looked at Chad. "She could see me…" he muttered then shook his head. "Come on, let's see this Maromaru-san," he muttered as the followed the path down to the end.

Chad knocked on the door and an elderly man answered. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Ojiisan," Chad said with a slight bow. "Obāsan told me that you have a security camera. My friend disappeared a week ago from yesterday, and she let me see her video of the time. We saw him on it, and we wanted to see if he continued in this direction."

The man looked at him then glanced down the road where the lady they'd talked to was standing and glaring at him. He snorted. "Fine, come in."

Again, Renji slipped in behind Chad and the old man sat down and opened his lap top. "All these Ojiisan and Obāsan with all this technology…" Renji muttered to Chad.

"Here, this is the day, right?" he said and stood up.

Chad nodded and played it until he saw the little girl skip into view. Ichigo was still being led and he kept looking behind him. "Does this have sound?"

"Yes, here," he said and clicked it on.

Ichigo came into view again, glancing behind him. "Where do you live? We're leaving the neighborhoods…this is where the warehouses are," he said and looked at her. She looked back and smiled at him. Renji and Chad could see his confused look.

"Just over here, Anaki, behind this building. We have a little house. We don't have much money, so we live out here," the little girl commented and led him out of range of the camera.

"Can I have a copy of this? I would like to show the police," Chad asked with a frown.

The old man nodded and sent it along to Chad's email as well then looked at him. "The police don't think something happened to your friend."

Chad shook his head. "They think he ran away, and he's eighteen, so they don't want to do anything. I don't believe he would leave his family. He has two younger sisters, and his mother's grave is here."

The old man nodded. "Well, I'd be careful around here at night."

Renji glanced at Chad. Chad tilted his head. "Why is that?"

"Just rumors about strange things happening in this area, down by those warehouses. I've lived here for years, and I haven't ever seen anything, in person or on camera. Some people say people go down there and don't come back like your friend."

Chad nodded. "Do you know anyone that knows more about this rumor?"

"Hmm, there's a man that lives on the other side of town, he used to live in the house across the street. I think his name was…Ryuu Fujimoto I think is his name."

Chad nodded. "Thank you Ojiisan," he said and they left again. Renji looked at him.

"We need to find this Fujimoto guy."

Chad nodded. "Let's get your gigai and take this by the police station," he said. "Maybe they will want to talk to him."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo - Unknown

Day 2 (Sunday) – 8:30 am

Ichigo had fallen asleep eventually despite the uncomfortable position he was in. He woke up to hear one of the other boys sobbing. He rolled toward him, and used his head to nudge his arm. He turned and looked at Ichigo. He was a smaller boy with black hair and large brown eyes. His face was puffy and tear streak so it looked like he'd been crying for a while. Ichigo sighed and put his head against his arm in a small attempt to comfort him. He guessed it helped because he stopped crying and moved to put his head against Ichigo's arm. Ichigo picked his head up and met his eyes and tried to smile around the gag but found it impossible, but he thought he got the idea.

Eventually they fell asleep against each other, and Ichigo was glad that if nothing else he could help him a little. They all woke with a start as the door slid open and the man from the night before came in with a chair and a man with a doctor's bag. The other man looked pleased to be there. Two other men in suits came in. They grabbed each of them and pulled them to a sitting position against the wall. A fifth man in a suit came in and stood at the doorway.

"Hello, my lovely little whores. Time to pass initiation," Kukoa said with a smirk as he flicked the lighter in his right hand open and closed idly. "I'd like to first welcome you here to the Kagema House. If you aren't aware of the meaning, and haven't figured it out yet, you're to be Kagema to high ranking, elite clientele. Now, I'm sure you wonder why we don't find willing sex workers. We have those as well, make no mistake. The most elite members of our organization and others that are allowed access to this place require certain safety features. Like that our boys cannot tell anyone what happens here. To that end, we have found the most efficient method is to simply remove your ability to speak. So Dr. Kagawa will be doing a rather simple procedure to remove your vocal chords."

All four of them stared in horror at the man. "I know, it seems extreme, but this is one of the services we offer our clients. It also has a secondary feature of making their encounters free of annoyances such as screaming or begging. We also no longer need to have use of gags. It is, in all, the best solution for us. The sacrifice of your voice will put you in a position better than the average Kagema in our organization."

Kukoa nodded to one of the guards and he pulled the first one of the boys to stand and drug him to the chair he'd brought in. This boy was smaller, as well, but he had hair that was dyed turquoise and tied back in a long braid down his back. He was quickly strapped into it and his head leaned back when the headrest was dropped backward. A strap was wrapped over his forehead securely making it impossible to move at all. The doctor removed the gag and the boy started to beg immediately.

"Please, please, I won't talk, I won't, I promise…please…don't…" he gasped out.

The doctor shook his head and injected something into his neck and he lost the ability to speak and his body seemed to relax.

"There now, that's better," he said. "Don't worry, boy, I'm an ENT. I've done far more delicate surgical procedures in far worse conditions," the doctor said with a smile.

He took a device made of metal out that had hooks and a blade of metal. Ichigo watched as he hooked it under his top teeth and locked it down over his tongue, stretching his mouth open an unnaturally wide amount. He reached into the bag and removed a scalpel and clicked a light on that was on his headband. The light shined down into his mouth and he hummed as he did something that Ichigo couldn't see from the angle. Ichigo had no idea how this sort of thing would be done, but he swore he saw a glow of some sort. It must have been the light, though. It was incredibly bright. He saw the boy's arms tensing and hands clenching. After a seemingly long time he stepped back from him. "Alright, next one."

The guard pulled him out of the chair and bound his hands behind him again as he knelt with blood and spit dripping from his mouth. His mouth worked slightly, as if whatever had kept him from moving during the procedure was gone. Kukoa looked at him.

"You'll be Hinto," he said with a nod and looked at the man that remained by the door. "Make a note that his hair should be regularly dyed this color. It is an excellent selling feature. Dress him in feminine attire, kimonos and style his hair nicely." The man at the door pulled out a tablet and tapped into it for a moment.

Ichigo watched as the boy he'd helped sleep was pulled up next and the same procedure was repeated. He didn't beg, but he cried the entire time, nearly choking on his own tears. The only difference was he was sobbing when he was dropped to the ground. Ichigo wanted to comfort him again, but he was being held firmly in place by one of the guards.

"Nakimushi will be his name. Cry baby I feel fits him. Give him childlike clothing and market him toward the shota seeking clients," Kukoa said and watched as the third one was put into the chair.

"No, no, I sing, please, anything but this…I…" he gurgled as the doctor punctured his throat with the needle, freezing his throat.

Ichigo looked away. He had a lovely voice even speaking once. He was a taller boy but rather muscular in the chest and arms. He had shoulder length blonde hair and glittering dark eyes. They seemed duller when he was dropped back onto the floor. He seemed numb and sat and stared into nothing as blood dripped down his face.

"Utahime. The little singing bird that no long can sing. This one is a more bara choice, set him up in a rather masculine dress in opposition to his name. I like the paradoxical nature of that. Show off his muscles and his size. We don't get many as gifted here. Capitalize on it," he said and looked over and grinned at Ichigo.

Ichigo was not going calmly. The minute they grabbed his arms and started to do anything to get away from them. Kukoa smiled. "I like this boy. I have a feeling he's going to have some strong lessons in the future. I've already booked his first client for this weekend," he said with a smirk.

The two guards managed to get Ichigo to the chair but they were going to have to unhook his feet and arms, and when they did he was planning on making them regret what they'd done to him and the others so far. He stilled himself as one of them unclipped the chain between his feet. He moved quicker than the second guard could grab him and he slammed his knee up into the face of the one kneeling in front of him. He fell to the side and Ichigo managed to get to his feet but it didn't last long because Kukoa had moved.

Ichigo screamed against the gag as he was slammed down into the floor by the other man. Kukoa smiled as he twisted his arms in their bindings. Ichigo was frustrated because he should not have been able to take Ichigo down that easily. He was either moving unnaturally fast, or Ichigo had hit his head harder than he thought he did. He felt like the most likely answer was the latter.

"Now, now, don't think I can't handle you. My guards may be dull and slow, but I guarantee I am not. I've been well trained for many years, whore. No matter how good you are, you are not better than me. In another life, I might have enjoyed sparring with you, boy. But you're too valuable to me for filling my obligations."

Between Kukoa and the two guards they got him into the chair and strapped him down. For some reason, Ichigo seemed to grow weaker when Kukoa held him and he couldn't get them off. Earlier he'd pushed them off easily. He had no idea what was going on. It had to be something to do with his head and not having eaten since the day before. The second the gag came off he started yelling at him.

"Goddamned you, I'm going to fucking kill you when I get my hands on you! You sick son of a bitch!" he yelled and tried to pull out of the straps. "How can you fucking do this people! How can you take people off the street and away from their families and just…just…do this!"

Kukoa held his hand up to stop the doctor from injecting him. "Oh, my, you are a loud one. Good thing we're getting rid of your voice. Tell me, where did you learn to fight?"

"None of your business, let me out of here. I have people that will look for me…"

"No you don't. I've already made sure that the police have informed your family that you've simply run away. That's what I do, you see. Our organization has people in place to make certain that police don't dig into what we do. We have so many safety features. You think you're the first person I've had taken from that little backwater you live in?" he asked with a sad smile.

"What?" Ichigo said with a surprised look.

Kukoa knelt down and slid his hand up Ichigo's leg and hummed. His fingers paused to run over the cuts and then Ichigo flinched as his hands slid up the inside of his thighs. "See, a long, long time ago, I was a boy in Karakura Town. I found my way into a warehouse down in the wrong area. I found myself in a very similar situation to you, my dear. I fought it, I did. But then, I accepted my fate. When that happened, things changed, and instead of being the whore, I became the whore in charge. And that, my dear, is the best feeling. Then, I was recruited out of the brothels to higher ranks. Now, I no longer have to service anyone unless I choose to."

"Who are you people?" Ichigo said because a fear was crawling into his belly that was terrifying. Everything about crime in Japan began to flood his mind. He didn't want him to give him the answer he was fearing. He wanted him to say anything else.

Kukoa smiled and stood up. He started unbuttoning his shirt and untucked it. Underneath his shirt was a pattern of tattoos that started below his collar bone and left a line down the center of his body. He dropped the shirt off and set it aside, smiling at him. The tattoos covered both shoulders and ended at his wrists. It wasn't a complete coverage, but it was over both arms and halfway down his chest and sides. Ichigo's eyes went wide because he knew what those tattoos meant. He knew that it meant no one could help him now.

"No, no," he said and shook his head. "You're…but…"

"You see, when the Yakuza took me, I was an orphan, abandoned on the streets of that worthless place you called home. They gave me a home, a family. I still hold a bit of hatred toward that place. I often suggest it as hunting grounds for the men we send out to find young, attractive men and women to set up in Yakuza run brothels and as personal sluts for some of our higher ranking members. I take the boys. You four are being added to replace six that were unfortunately lost in a fire at our last location. Otherwise, we don't usually take more than one in at a time. I'd hoped for six or more, but they only snagged four boys this time," he said with a smirk. "So you see, struggling and fighting does no good. You're a long way from home. You're in Kyoto, my dear. If you managed to get out, you'd never make it past the guards downstairs. And more than that, you'd be hunted for the rest of your life if you somehow managed to get away from us. Accept your fate, boy. With your skills, you might climb the ranks like I have. If you do, the fact you are Voiceless will mark you as a self-made man in the Yakuza, one of the whores that became something more. It is quite a mark of respect to have been a Voiceless Kagema and rose in ranks."

Kukoa shrugged and nodded to the doctor. Ichigo couldn't help it, though. "No, you can't do this, I have family, I have…" he felt the whole of his throat stop working seconds after the needle pierced his neck.

He thought it felt weird, though. It wasn't like an anesthetic. Something was different. He could simply not move any of the muscles in his throat and neck. His breath came in harsh pants as his head was tipped back. He put the awful metal thing in his mouth and Ichigo thought his jaw was going to come out of socket if he didn't stop opening his mouth wider. He did stop and locked the blade down over his tongue and shined the light down his mouth. Ichigo couldn't see anything for the bright light shining in his face, though, so he didn't see what he was using. He just felt metal clicking against metal and his teeth. He felt something cold sliding down his throat. Ichigo realized to his horror that he could feel pain; he just couldn't move anything in his throat. The feeling wasn't like being cut, though. He had no idea what it felt like. It was a sharp pain, but it was nothing like when he cut his legs. He wanted to scream and felt tears running down from his eyes as he felt something cutting into him. The doctor finished and Ichigo couldn't fight this time. He just fell to his knees and felt them clip his wrists back together. His throat was on fire and he watched as blood dripped from his lips to the floor. He could move his throat again. He had no idea how that could be. He noticed they didn't bother with his ankles this time. What was the point?

Kukoa moved around and knelt down in front of Ichigo and looked at him with an appraising eye.

"Hmm, this one has a sleek body, he'll be highly sought after. He's not childlike, but he's not bara enough to be in that classification," Kukoa said with his hand holding his chin. "So what to call you…"

Ichigo turned his face up to look at him and couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd never be able to speak again. He'd be voiceless for the rest of his life, however long that was. Where was the use in living like this?

Kukoa put his hands on Ichigo's leg and smirked as he ran his hands up and down it. "I see you like self-abuse," he said and stroked his hands down the still red cuts in his thighs. "I believe that you will do well in the bondage groups…also will keep you for hurting someone. At least until you learn your place. You don't fool me by this docile change. You'll fight still. Azami. The defiance is strong in you. I thought of using your real name, but I think that would connect you too much to the life you are leaving. You will forget that life. Though, a whore named Strawberry is cute." He stood and looked at the man at the door. "Slate him down for the bondage and masochism group. I'm sure we'll get some more scars to add to his little collection."

"Sir, shall we send down Chisato to brand them now, or wait until they've healed a bit?" the man on the door asked.

"Go ahead and do it now so the brands are healed before they begin working. Take them to the recovery chamber. There aren't any others in there currently. Go ahead and shackle Azami. I will not trust him to not try and run. The other three are weak. They won't do anything. Clothe them in the white kimonos so they're not bothered by any overzealous members," he said and left them.

Ichigo was numb as he was pulled to his feet and a white kimono was draped over his shoulders. He looked over and saw the same thing with the other three. They all were led into a large room that looked like a dorm room with eight beds. Ichigo was jerked toward one and the guard took off the kimono for long enough to unhook his hands. Then he snapped a chain into the ring on Ichigo's left hand and clipped it to a metal bar that ran over the top of the bed. He just stared at it as he sat down on the bed slowly and looked around the room.

The other three looked as dazed as he felt. A few minutes later, a buxom woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes came in smiling. She had something in her hands. It looked almost like a hair curler or something, a long tubular object with something at the end. It looked to have some sort of battery pack on it. She went over to the first bed, Hinto, and looked at him.

"On your back, slut," she said.

Hinto did as she asked and she opened the front of his kimono. She smiled, clicking a button on the thing she was holding. Ichigo looked to see that the piece at the end began to glow red. She pressed the end against the juncture between the boy's hip and leg. He couldn't scream of course, but Ichigo saw him arch from the pain. It was a branding iron. One of the guards had to hold Nakimushi down while she branded him, and Utahime just seemed to be numb. Ichigo thought of fighting but what would be the point? He let the iron burn into his flesh and stared into the ceiling. Sometime later he sat up and looked down. The symbol was a diamond with what kind of looked like an upside down M in it. the outer two bent along the inside. In a way it almost looked like the diamond had a second row inside and a line down the middle broken at either sides of that middle line. Ichigo had seen it before, in his class where he'd done a report on organized crime in Japan.

Great, he thought. Not only was he kidnapped by a sex trafficking ring, he was kidnapped by the Yakuza. And not only the Yakuza, but the Yamaguchi-gumi, the biggest arm of the entire organization. He pulled on the chain and then curled on his side. There was no way anyone could help him now. None whatsoever.


	3. First Comes Lonliness

**Fallen Spirits**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 _First Comes Loneliness_

* * *

Chad and Renji – Karakura Town

Day 10 (Tuesday) – 12:30 pm

Renji punched the wall in frustration. "I can't fucking believe they just said it was nothing. How could they say it was fucking nothing?"

The police had looked at the clips and then told them that they would keep a copy. They told them that there was no indication that anything had happened to him other than taking a little lost girl back to her home.

Chad stared again at the two video clips they had gotten. Again and again, he watched them and looked for anything that he could use to figure out something. He rubbed his eyes and rolled back one frame by frame. He'd ended up having to buy software for this, but he didn't mind.

"Renji," he said and looked at him. "Come look here."

Renji came over and leaned over the desk and watched as Chad moved the feed frame by frame. "See, there?" he said and pointed to a figure that was almost imperceptible moving in the background as the girl led Ichigo away in the second clip.

"It's someone, dressed in black, can barely see them…" Renji said with a frown.

Chad nodded and froze the screen. "See, they're covered all except the eyes."

Renji frowned. "What the hell? Modern day ninjas in the World of the Living?"

"Yes. I have another idea, though," Chad said and turned the printer on beside him. "The little girl. We should find out if anyone knows who she is. And we need to find this Fujimoto."

Renji nodded and waited as they got the photo out of the printer and took off. All they had found on Fujimoto had been a rough address on the northern side of Karakura. They headed off as quickly as they could. It had been ten days. Ten days. Both Chad and Renji knew a lot could happen in ten days. They needed a place to look, though. They couldn't just randomly wander all of Japan. Even if Renji moved at his fastest, without any way to detect Ichigo, it did no good. Of course, that was assuming that Ichigo was in Japan. Even though Rukia disagreed with Renji, she was continually monitoring souls entering Soul Society for any that might be Ichigo. So far, there had been nothing. In a way, Renji was glad, but in another, it made him worry about what could really be happening.

They stood in front of a house that looked like any other house. Chad knocked. Renji had come without his Gigai, just in case something happened and he needed Zabimaru. His hand clutched the hilt and he just wanted to see Ichigo. He had so many things that had been left unsaid to him. Rukia had encouraged him, of course, but still. After the second time Chad knocked, a man answered the door. He was in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, and did not look happy to have visitors.

"What do you want?" he said, looking up at the significantly taller Chad.

"Moramaru-san gave us your name. My friend disappeared near your old home. He said you might have answers, Fujimoto-san."

The man narrowed his light brown eyes and looked either direction outside and opened the door. "Get in here before someone sees you."

Chad went in with Renji flashing into the room in front of him. The house was small, but well kept and neat. Fujimoto led Chad to the dining room table and dropped the curtains over the window. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Sit," he said as he took a seat himself. "Why do you think I know anything?"

"Moramaru-san said that you knew something about the rumors of people disappearing down by the warehouses outside town."

Fujimoto looked at him. "Son, you don't want to get involved in this. If your friend disappeared down there, give up. For your own health."

Chad frowned. "I will not give up on him."

Renji looked around the small house. It was nice, and there were family photos of the man with what was probably a female family member. There were other things, other pictures, and other small mementos.

Fujimoto sighed. "Don't blame me when you wind up dead, boy," he said as he leaned back and crossed his arms in the seat. Renji moved around the table to look around the kitchen. "You don't understand what you're dealing with."

"I don't understand but I need to. I want to find my friend and help him."

"Boy, he's so far beyond anyone's help by now that you'll be lucky if his name ever graces the papers when he does turn up, either dead or arrested," he muttered and looked away.

"Dead or arrested?" Chad asked.

"Those are the two outcomes. There's no in between," he said with a sigh. "I used to have a friend. A good friend. We were in an orphanage here in Karakura Town together. He was an angry boy, though. His parents had died in a house fire when he was seven, and he blamed the town for not putting it out in time or saving them. Well, that's what he said. I had a feeling that he'd been the reason for the fire, and it was just easier to blame someone else. I tried to help him with it, but one day he just ran away. He was about thirteen at the time. Down to the warehouses. I followed him, I was his best friend, after all. I heard him screaming for help as I got near and I hid. I was fifteen, and scared out of my mind. There were these men dragging him away."

He paused. "I didn't think much of it for a long time. I told the police what I saw, they investigated but they never found him. I moved on. I went to Tokyo to go to school, and it was there that I ran into my friend at a convention center. He recognized me but I hardly knew him. He was dressed in a kimono, and was walking with this man in a suit. I'd never seen him wear anything like that. He saw me and then looked away quickly. I was stupid. I went after them."

Chad listened intently. "I called out his name and then the world just went out. I woke up some time later in an empty room tied to a chair. After a while, my friend came in. I got a good look at him now. He was dressed in a silk floral kimono and had on stylized makeup. He told me that I shouldn't have said anything. Then the door opened and he stepped back and waited. The man that came in told me that I had been mistaken in believing his Kagema was my friend. I just stared at him."

Chad frowned. "Kagema? I am unfamiliar with this term."

Fujimoto smiled. "That's not a bad thing. Kagema, long ago, were young male prostitutes. They dressed as women sometimes. They often worked in brothels and tea houses."

"Your friend had become this?" Chad asked with a frown.

"I didn't know what to do, but I told him I must have been mistaken, that my friend was in Kyoto, so I was just mistaken. The man nodded to me and seemed to believe me. He left and my friend with him. I kept looking though, trying to figure out what had happened to him. Then, one day, reading the newspaper at the school, I saw the man that had been with him. He had been a Yakuza boss. He'd been arrested for sex trafficking and running several brothels near Tokyo. None of those that had worked there were listed," he said with a sigh. "So, from then on, I kept my ears open. For a while nothing happened, and my mother grew ill. I came back to Karakura Town to care for her, and while here, I heard the rumors. A person here or there would go missing and just be written off as having left for Tokyo. I knew better, though. I got close a few times, but the closer I got, the more I alerted those who shouldn't know what I was doing."

He closed his eyes. "Then one day, my door rang. I opened it to see my friend. But he is different now, as it's been almost ten years as well, but he was wearing a black suit and his hair was pulled back from his face. He had these two men with suits behind him. I tried to invite him in, but he declined. He just told me one thing. He told me to stop looking. He looked at me a long time then pushed the sleeve up on his arm. I stared. I had thought he was a victim, of course. He wasn't now, though, because he wore the tattoos of the Yakuza. He turned and walked away from me. I never saw him again, and after my mother passed, I moved away from that place."

"What was your friend's name?" Chad asked.

"Before he disappeared, his name was Aki Seo. When he came to my house he introduced himself as Kukoa and said that the person I had known was dead and had been for a long time," he said with a sigh. "But I'm stubborn. I kept looking, but I was more careful. I found little, though. So, all I can say, boy, that if your friend disappeared from there, he's gone for good. He's in Yakuza hands, and that, my boy is a place you don't want to go."

Chad nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate the help." He stood up to leave.

"You giving up on him?" Fujimoto asked as he stood and walked him to the door.

Chad shook his head. "Not at all. I will find him."

"Figured that. Be careful. Hope you do better than I did."

Chad left and Renji followed him. "What now?" Renji asked.

"We know that he is most likely with the Yakuza. They are humans. Between the two of us, if we can locate him, we can doubtless free him. Now, though, we find out if anyone saw that girl," he said with a nod of his head. "I'll canvas again. You go back and see if you can find out anything about this Kukoa that he was talking about. And about this Kagema thing."

Renji nodded. "Alright, see you back there. Good luck."

Renji flashed back and sat down at the computer after he got into gigai. He had picked up computers pretty quickly now that he had to. He spent the next four hours researching everything about this person, the possible locations, and what it all might be connected to. He had gone in the kitchen to get a drink when Chad came back. He looked at him. "Any luck?"

Chad shook his head. "No one recognizes her. What about you?"

"I wish I had something good, but all I have is more piles of bad possibilities," he said with a sigh and sat down. "Listen to this. This references someone named Kukoa. It says that he is suspected of being the head of a part of the Yakuza's sex trafficking operations. There's notes that he's been suspected of being involved with several brothels that have been busted or burned. There was a bad fire in a suspected brothel outside Kyoto about a month ago. It says that six bodies were found inside, all burned to death. They had all been bound with chain and had no way to get out of the building. It's still under investigation, but all six men were identified by dental records as missing persons in the last four years from all over Japan."

Chad frowned. "He mentioned that he had been a Kagema, that means that the brothel was one that had Kagema instead of female sex workers," Chad said thoughtfully. "Fujimoto-san said that Ani's parents were burned to death in a fire. For him to be connected with another fire where people were burned to death, that is too much of a coincidence."

Renji nodded. "Okay, so then I searched for Kagema brothels, thinking maybe we could figure out where the guy is. I don't know if he's someone that can help us, but maybe he can give us a direction. Anyway, I found locations of ten legal Kagema escorts groups. With some digging, I found out that there are three Kagema brothels in Japan, but they are each run by one of three larger branches of the Yakuza. The largest one is in Kyoto, doubtless it was the location that was burned, with the other two in Tokyo and Osaka. There's no way to get information on where they are, however, and it is all rumor and speculation at this point."

"How do we figure out if this Kukoa has anything to do with Ichigo's disappearance?" Chad said and looked Renji.

"I don't know, we can't even be sure that there's any connection. All we have is that the Kukoa was kidnapped by the Yakuza in the same area that Ichigo disappeared. It looks like that little girl was used to lure him away from residences, if you ask me, since no one knows her. We know that this Kukoa has come back to Karakura to confront his friend. We know that he was taken by the Yakuza and made a Kagema, but he eventually became a member of the Yakuza instead of serving them as a Kagema," Renji said with a deep sigh.

Chad nodded. "Someone like Ichigo has the fighting skills necessary to be valuable to the Yakuza. If the brothel that this Kukoa ran burned, he might have needed to find people that would be better at protecting it. Ichigo would be an ideal candidate. There is a small possibility that he could have been made an offer by them, and gone."

"Ichigo join a criminal organization? I don't think that is possible." Renji couldn't believe that Ichigo would even entertain the thought of joining something like that.

Chad sat for a long moment. "We should go to Kyoto."

"What?" Renji said with a frown.

"It is the largest of these places. We are eliminating options. This is one of them. We've ruled out him being murdered or having amnesia. Now we have another possibility. We need to pursue it. I do have a friend in Kyoto we could stay with. If we find nothing there, we can head to Osaka, and then return to Tokyo at last."

Renji nodded. "Okay, that sounds good. We need to check it off the list, and move on."

Chad stood up and went to get his phone. He dialed his friend's number that he hadn't spoken with in a very long time.

"Hello?" came the computerized voice that translated his typing.

"Adel, it's Sado. How are you?" Chad asked.

"Sado? What a surprise!" came the voice. The computerized voice didn't do a great job indicated inflection, but the program he used was quite a bit better than others on the market. "I haven't talked to you in almost four years, how are you?"

"I am personally well, but I need a place to stay in Kyoto while I look for someone that might be there," Chad said with a sigh.

"Oh? Well of course. Just you?"

"No, I have a friend I'm bringing with me as well," Chad said, glancing at Renji.

"That's fine, here I'll give you the address. Do you know when?" Adel asked. Chad heard his phone beep indicating that Adel had sent the address to him in text.

"As soon as possible," Chad said with a nod. "Time is important with this but I will explain when we arrive. I will call you when we get to Kyoto."

"Of course, Sado. I'll look forward to it!"

Chad put the phone down and looked at Renji. "Well, that should help, I believe. We may find nothing, but at least we can eliminate the possibility."

Renji nodded and headed to the futon to lie down. He was drained. He was quiet for a while, then he pulled the journal from his pocket and thumbed through it for the millionth time. Somehow, it was comforting to see Ichigo's words. It gave him hope that they weren't on a fool's errand.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Adel - Kyoto

Adel Murat was surprised to hear from Sado, but pleased. He sighed and went back to the table where the guys he was having dinner with sat and talked. They were very loud and rowdy. He usually tried to make friends with the locals wherever he went. He had come with his parents on a business trip to Japan. They were based out of Kyoto currently, and four years ago they had been in Tokyo when he'd ran into Sado in Karakura Town during one of his explorations of the suburbs. Generally, they remained in one place for a year or two His parents worked for a major international company that was out of Canada. Adel himself loved exploring the world, and he loved being a "global citizen". He sometimes faced odd looks due to his unusual appearance. His family on both sides were descendants of Arabian immigrants to Canada. Generally, he dressed in a mixture of modern and Victorian style clothes. At first he didn't know it had a name, but then someone commented that they liked his steampunk look. He'd looked it up and found that he greatly enjoyed the aesthetic of it.

Thinking about family, though, made him reach to the silken neck corset he wore. He shook thoughts of that away and sat down with the three young men. They were sons of businessmen that were working with his family. He often enjoyed going out with and visiting locals. He loved the meeting of new people and how they lived their lives.

"Hey, Adel, so Hiroshi-kun says he can get us into an exclusive whorehouse. What do you say?" the oldest of the group, a boy named Haru Yoshizawa, said with a wide grin. Hiroshi Yama smiled at him as well. Hiroshi had spiked and dyed blue hair. Haru had one side of his head shaved and the other long as it fell down the side of his face.

"Haru-san," Adel tapped onto the tablet. Adel was completely incapable of speech, having lost his ability to use his voice after the incident that left him with a ragged scar on his throat. "I told you that I'm asexual. I have no interest in participating in sex of any kind."

"You said that at the last whorehouse we took you to," Hiroshi said with a sigh. "So this time, it's a male whorehouse since the women didn't turn you on."

Since they started meeting, they had been insisting that Adel could not be asexual. They seemed convinced that having sex with the right person would "fix" him. Adel was annoyed by it, but he promised his father that he would be courteous to the young men in the interest of business.

"Yeah," the third of their number, a younger man named Kouta Ogura that was shorter than the other two. He wore rather feminine attire generally, and had his hair tied back in a long braid with a lace headband. "Come on, you might just need to stick your dick in a guy's ass to get off instead of a pussy. I know it does it for me more than girls."

Adel sighed in exasperation. "I am not sexually excited by anything. Going to a male or female sex worker will not change this." The computerized voice just did not convey the amount this annoyed him.

"Come on, Adel-kun," Haru said. "Just come with us. If you don't like it, we'll stop bugging you about it, deal?"

Adel sighed. "Fine, if that is the deal. I will go with you if you agree to stop making these comments and requests about my sexuality. When do you wish to go?"

"Saturday night, Hiroshi's dad has everything arranged with it," he said with a smirk.

Adel thought perhaps it would be like visiting the ochaya and talking to the geishas in Tokyo. Of course, the place that these boys had taken to him recently had been nothing more than a brothel and drug den. He had ended up talking at length to a couple of the girls, though. Even though he didn't wish to engage in sexual acts with the, they were kind and courteous to him. That had been a fun evening. Perhaps going to this place would be interesting. He knew that at the very least he would get them to leave him alone about being asexual. And he might find other beautiful people to take pictures of as well.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo – Kagema House

Day 5 (Wednesday) – 9:00 am

Ichigo spent the rest of the day and the next in the strange dorm or hospital room or whatever it was. He didn't know how to deal with things right now. He sat back against the head of the bed where his arm was chained and stared at nothing. The other three boys spent most of the time curled in their own beds, mostly due to the pain they were all in. The soreness in his throat was only soothed by cool liquids. It seemed that the "nurses" or whoever they were knew this. One of them would come by every few hours with one of the guards would come and take him to the bathroom. Most annoying was that he wasn't allowed any privacy. Then again, none of them were allowed privacy of any sort. Ichigo sat and pushed idly at his chained wrist. The last two days had been bad. Several times, one or all of them, had woken up coughing and spitting blood from what they'd done to them. He stared at the bed for a long time.

He felt someone put a hand on his and he looked up. It was Nakimushi. He put leaned in and put his arms around Ichigo and hugged him. Ichigo wasn't sure what to do at first but put his arm around him in return. He mouthed the words 'thank you' and smiled at Ichigo. Ichigo nodded and put his hand on Nakimushi's face and returned the smile. He mouthed 'thank you' in return. Nakimushi's face went slightly pink and he leaned forward to hug him again. Ichigo sighed and let him lean into him for a while. It was nice to be held, to be honest. Nakimushi sat back and made a face that indicated questioning.

Ichigo frowned and shrugged at him. He mouthed 'What is it' to him. Nakimushi blushed again and smiled at him. Ichigo blinked and realized what he was asking. He looked away and shrugged and mouthed 'maybe'…then nodded at him after he thought about it. Nakimushi smirked at him then leaned forward and kissed his cheek quickly and backed up. Ichigo blinked at him as he got up and went back to his bed and kept glancing over at him.

Ichigo put his hand over his cheek and looked at him before looking down. He didn't know what to think about that. He supposed that it wasn't a surprise that he'd grow attached a bit, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it. It wasn't like either of them was in a position to do much about any mutual interest here. He sighed and felt someone nearby and he looked up to see it was Hinto. He looked at him and smiled, mouthing 'how are you' to him.

Hinto sat down beside him and nodded. He pointed to Nakimushi who had his back to them now and shrugged at Ichigo. Ichigo sighed and shrugged in return. 'Doesn't matter,' he mouthed with a huff of air. Hinto nodded and patted Ichigo's leg before he went back to his own bed. Their other companion didn't walk around much. Ichigo guessed that since he had been a singer of some sort, having them take his voice was horrid.

They all looked up when the door opened and the impeccably dress Kukoa came in with another man in a suit. Ichigo couldn't help but notice that he had the lighter in his hand again, flicking it open and closed as he walked.

"As you can see, our new boys are going to be ready to join the others soon," Kukoa said with a nod. "Is there something in particular you would like of them, Bunya-sama?"

Bunya, apparently, Ichigo figured looked them over. He was of average height and perhaps forty or fifty by the look. He was slightly graying and had neat close cropped hair. He stood at the foot of Ichigo's bed and looked at him.

"You've shackled him. Reason?"

Kukoa smiled. "He is rather…spirited. He has caused several injuries in his acquisition, and he even attempted to fight me before we made him one of the voiceless. He fights well, perhaps would have been a good sparring match for me if he wasn't weakened by acquisition."

"Interesting," he said. "What is his name?"

"Azami," Kukoa said with a smirk.

"Him." He walked on and looked over each of them. He stopped at Nakimushi's bed. "This one. I'll come by on Sunday. You said Kuromoshi-sama was to visit your Azami on Saturday, yes?"

"Yes, Bunya-sama. And the other, Nakimushi, has been arranged for his first visit on Saturday as well, with Takagaki-san and his wife."

He nodded. "Very well. I'll see you on Tuesday. I expect complete privacy and complete freedom to answer to my son's needs."

"Of course, of course," Kukoa said with a smile. "However, please remember that these boys are new, so they may not offer the same kind of willing attention as my other boys."

"That is preferable for him," he said with a nod. Kukoa led him out.

Ichigo hated this so much. He wasn't this Azami. He wasn't. He couldn't be. Maybe, just maybe, if he made Azami the person this happened to, and not him, he'd get through this with his sanity intact. He wasn't sure, though. He looked up as Nakimushi sat down on the bed beside him and then laid down to put his head in Ichigo's lap. Ichigo sighed and put his free hand on his head. He didn't mind. He'd do whatever it took to help them. He may have been weak and unable to fight their captors, but he could at least try to offer some solace to them.

Several hours later Kukoa returned and talked to the guard. He came over and unchained Ichigo's arm but put handcuffs on him. He pulled him by the arm and Kukoa smiled.

"Time to meet your fellow whores, my dear boys," he said with a smile.

Ichigo watched as the other three got up and followed them. They were led down a hallway into a large room with windows on two sides. Around this room, there were other young men occupied in various things. There were several futons and small, low tables. Kukoa clapped loudly and all those in the room got up and came toward him.

"Boys, I know we suffered a loss, but I've found four lovely replacements. Azami," he said and pushed Ichigo forward. Ichigo made sure to snarl at him. "Careful, he might bite," he said with a smirk. "Nakimushi," he said and pushed him forward a bit. "Hinto, and Utahime. They've all received the honor of being made Voiceless."

To Ichigo's surprise a couple of the boys gasped and smiled at each other. He had no idea why this was such a big thing. Having his vocal cords ripped out of his throat seemed like a generally bad thing all around.

"Boys," Kukoa said. "I'll introduce the rest of your number briefly. Our Voiceless are Daichi," he said and gestured to a rather muscular man wearing a tight t-shirt and jeans. "Chouko," he said and pointed to a young boy made up with heavy makeup and a flowy, sheer dress. "And Nobu." He pointed to a third one that had a pair of very short shorts and a halter style shirt.

"Now, I'm sure you boys are wondering what the difference is. Voiceless are special Kagema. Not all are Voiceless. Those that are Voiceless are given the privilege of having the most elite clients in our establishment. This includes many of the leaders of our organization, and political leaders. Your clients will be scheduled rather than waiting in this room. However, all Voiceless are to remain in here on any days they are not scheduled to meet with special clients." He looked them over. "Voiceless are also the most likely to move up the ranks. Your sacrifice is noted and respected."

Ichigo closed his eyes. Sacrifice made it sound like they'd chosen this. "Now, the other Kagema, Yoshi, Kuro, Shouta, Yuuto, and Osamu," he pointed to each of them in turn. Ichigo didn't pay much attention though. "These have chosen this life of pleasure for their own reasons. They service mainly clients that come in without appointments. Unlike the Voiceless, they aren't handpicked by us. Now, we'll return you to your rest for now. This weekend is a big weekend for you!" he said as he ushered them all back to the room.

Ichigo was still shackled to the bed. Nakimushi came over again, and Ichigo was sort of glad. Having some sort of contact at this moment made him feel a little less alone. Only a little, though.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo – Kagema Hoouse

Day 8 (Saturday) – 4:00 pm

The next two days had been somewhat easy. They saw no one else except the guards and the women that worked as nurses, and things continued as they had. They were left alone except when the "nurse" would come check their throats and their brands. Earlier in the day, Kukoa had come and taken Hinto and Nakimushi away. Neither had come back. Ichigo knew that it was only a matter of time before he came for him. When he came in this time, he knew. He looked up as he felt the chain on his wrist being undone.

"Come, now, you've got a friend to meet, but first, we have a little clean up to do," Kukoa said with a smirk.

Ichigo couldn't think of resisting as he led him by the hand out and into the large bathroom that they'd first come into. He took the wrist cuffs off and took the kimono away. Ichigo stood there and stared at the tile. He wanted to fight him. He wanted to go after him. He wanted to scream and he wanted to run. But he couldn't. He couldn't do that at all. He jerked when he felt him push him back to the wall.

"This is your first lesson in being a Kagema, Azami. This is what you will do before you meet every scheduled client. Meaning if you have two, you will come and do this again. Then you will also do this every morning when you are in the main room. We pride ourselves on having the best Kagema in Japan. The ones in Tokyo and Osaka don't do this as carefully as I do, and I'm quite proud of it. My boys are always clean and ready. I'll have someone help you the first few times, but after that it is your responsibility. And if I hear that you have met with a client without this level of cleanliness, I will do much worse than brand you. Do you understand me?" he asked him.

Ichigo nodded and looked at him, wondering exactly what he was talking about. He didn't have long to wait for that answer though. He realized what he pulled out of a drawer near the shower with surprise. It wasn't like he'd never seen an enema bag, his father was a doctor, but he didn't expect this here. He understood now what he meant by cleanliness though. He swallowed and managed to get through the perhaps most humiliating experience of his life thus far. After that was finished he was put under the shower again. Kukoa stepped back and took a razor from the drawer.

"You will always shave yourself, each morning, and in between scheduled clients. All of you have been scheduled for complete electrolysis, of course, but that won't be for another couple of weeks. There is no excuse for laziness. I do not care if you are late for your appointment for some reason, you will go through this procedure every day."

Ichigo had never been shaved down there, and he wasn't sure how he felt about someone else doing it either. Kukoa was quick and efficient, though, and it didn't take him long before he was rinsing him off with the shower head again.

"Now, this will be done at least daily, if not more than once. You do not need to repeat the procedure if you are on the main floor. Once is enough. Only our elite clients expect our Kagema to be clean in every sense of the word. The rest will be expected to use condoms anyway."

Ichigo, despite the complete humiliation of what had just occurred, couldn't really respond more than a nod. It wasn't like he could speak, but honestly, he had no inclination to do so anyway. Kukoa dried him off with a thick towel and then went across to a closet that had been hidden in the whiteness of the wall. He came back with a light yellow kimono with orange and white lotus blossoms patterning it. He put Ichigo into it and stepped back.

"Good, good, you look good in the traditional style," he said as he walked around him appraisingly. "The hair, though. I wish it were longer…" he muttered. "It will grow, of course. A couple months and you'll have enough to pull back at your neck. For now," he said and returned to a set of drawers. He came back with several floral hair clips with white lotus blossoms on them. "I've decided your billing is Azami, the Lotus Blossom. I generally give each of my Kagema a thematic billing, usually flowers or trees. It suits you."

Kukoa stopped and looked at him. He tipped Ichigo's face up to meet his eyes. "I know what you're going through. The best thing to do is forget who you were. Leave that behind, you will never go back to that. That brand on you ensures that. You belong to us." He sighed and unbuttoned his slacks. He pushed the band down until he revealed the same brand on his own body. He buttoned them again. "I made it through this and you can as well, Azami. Accept this and you will be better off. I know you will fight it still. But you will eventually accept this. You will have to. I know it is hard to see now, but your life will be better than you can imagine once you have come through this part. You have the strength to lead, Azami. I sense it within you. That defiance, and that spirit, it will serve you in the future. The others don't have it. For now, you will need to push it away."

Ichigo just stared at him. How could he forget who he was? How could he just leave that behind? He shook his head at him slowly. Kukoa smiled and put both hands on his face.

"You will be a leader one day, Azami. You will get through this, and you will become much more than you are. I know that right now you view having your voice taken away as terrible, as something you will never be able to live without. I would have done better to have been Voiceless. The Voiceless are my creation, Ichigo. The Kyoto Kagema House is the only one that does this. I know that it isn't clear now, but it will become clear soon." Kukoa leaned forward and kissed Ichigo's forehead and said softly, "You are my protégé, Azami. You are my choice to become a leader of one of our Kagema Houses. Only those of us that have suffered can truly understand. For that reason, more than anything, you will never leave me."

Kukoa smiled and took his hand. "Now, time to meet your first client," he said and led him down the halls to a large double door. "I am sorry that he is your first, but the others are far too delicate for this gentleman and he is very important. He is a Shatagashira, and he must be satisfied. The lieutenants of the Yakuza are not people we wish to make enemies of, my dear."

Kukoa knocked gently and someone inside said to enter. Kukoa came in with a smile. "Kuromoshi-sama, may I present Azami to you."

Kuromoshi turned and looked at him. He was standing at a bar on the side of the large bedroom. In the middle of the room, it was dominated by a huge four poster and canopied bed. Ichigo swallowed nervously, the burning in his throat only increasing. This man wore a light colored yukata and slippers. His black hair was cut short around his face. Kuromoshi was a large man. He stood perhaps six foot five or more, and he exuded power in a way Ichigo had never experienced. This wasn't literal power; this was something else. He could see above the edge of the yukata and down onto his chest the solid covering of tattoos. He could see them down to his wrists and what he saw of his legs were also covered. He couldn't stop his hands from shaking in Kukoa's grip. Kukoa squeezed his hand gently.

"Azami is, as you requested, unused thus far. You have the honor of being not only his first client, but his first period. The only request I make is that you not use his throat. He is still recovering from the procedure to render him Voiceless. I also would request that you forgive any defiance. As you might expect, he has not learned about his new life yet."

"Good, I like a bit of fight," he said as he poured a cup of sake. He walked over to Ichigo and circled him. "How old is he?"

Kukoa smiled. "Eighteen, nearly nineteen."

Ichigo frowned. He knew how old he was, even that his next birthday was closer rather than farther away. He supposed they were Yakuza.

"Boy," he said and Ichigo looked at him. "Is he right? Is that how old you are?"

Ichigo nodded quickly, not sure why he wanted to know this. "Good. You know how I feel about the ones that are still children," he muttered and tossed back the sake. "He's pretty, Kukoa. Not too feminine, but still lovely. Is that why you picked him up?"

Kukoa smiled. "Oh, he was a matter of opportunity. I received a call from one of our affiliates that handles acquisition. It was a friend that I am very familiar with, and while in the field he saw him wandering about after dark. He thought he might interest me. I told them to bring him to me. I was not disappointed. I pre-bid on him before I even set eyes on him, and I am very glad I did. As it was, he dropped five men, and they wrangled him only by knocking him out."

"Luck was on your side," Kuromoshi said as he moved around in front of him. "He certainly is made for this. Very well, you may leave, Kukoa."

"Thank you, Kuromoshi-sama. Please enjoy yourself."

Ichigo wanted to grab him as he left and the doors clapped closed. Ichigo heard the clicking of the lock and a thunk of something on the outside of the door. Kuromoshi went back to the bar to get another drink and left him standing in the front of the room. Ichigo didn't know what to do so he just stood there. He concentrated on the pain in his throat. It was all he could do to not take off for the door and try to get out. He knew that would end badly. He glanced toward it and back to the floor.

"You want to try and run, don't you?" Kuromoshi said.

Ichigo looked at him again, brows meshing in a scowl. "Ha, he was right. Defiant still. You know what would happen if you tried to run, don't you?" Ichigo swallowed and tried to still his hammering heart. "You wouldn't get the door open, first of all." He walked toward him with his hands in the pockets of his yukata. "Then, I'd get to you. And as much as I'm already going to hurt you, I would hurt you even worse."

Ichigo's eyes went a bit wide. "You see; I like the virgin boys because they bleed easily. I like to watch them squirm and cry as I rape them. Because make no mistake, that's what it is. I make no excuses for it. I don't sleep with Kagema. I don't fuck them. You will never have another experience as bad as what I will do to you."

Ichigo didn't know what to do. He felt his breath begin to hitch and he shook his head. He mouthed 'please' and 'no' at him but he smiled at him. "Good, I like it when they beg."

Despite all his attempt to not give him what he wanted, the minute he reached to grab his arm he found himself moving away from him a couple steps. He only smiled wider and grabbed Ichigo's wrist in a vicelike grip. He tried to pull away but he easily twisted his arm back onto his back. Ichigo didn't want this, not at all, and really not like this. He didn't understand why he was so sluggish, though. He should have been able to dodge such a clumby man. He felt his heartbeat in his ear rushing. He was screaming, but it didn't matter. All that came out was a rough exhale of air that made no sound. He felt his shoulder giving as he kept twisting. It wasn't that he had to do it, but Ichigo knew he wanted to do it. Ichigo fell to his knees when he felt the sick pop as the shoulder slid out of the joint.

Kuromoshi smirked as he pulled him back up by the same arm. As many times as Ichigo had been in pain, this had to be one of the worst. He tried to move with him to alleviate the pressure, but Kuromoshi wasn't having it. He threw him onto the bed and laughed.

"You know, if you weren't half starved and doped up, you might have had a chance…" he muttered. "I imagine you are quite a challenge when you are fully with it. Is it true it took five to snatch you?" Ichigo nodded slowly and wondered what he meant by doped up. "Good, good, there is nothing more satisfying then taking an arrogant boy like you and making you writhe in agony under me."

Ichigo was only half aware of his words. The pain from his shoulder was radiating into every part of his body and he wasn't sure that he could concentrate on anything else. He was very wrong about that, however.

Kuromoshi slowly began untying the Kimono's belt. Ichigo couldn't stop him, but he still tried to grab his hand with the one that still functioning. The response from his client was to backhand him hard enough to split his lip. He choked a bit as the blood tried to flood his throat. His head was spinning now, though.

"Keep it up," Kuromoshi growled, his dark eyes glittering brightly. "I'll gladly hurt you more."

He didn't notice when the kimono had fallen open. Kuromoshi ran his hands over his stomach and down to his thighs. Ichigo gasped out as he felt him dragging his nails over the healing cuts there.

"Hmm, you like pain, huh?" he muttered.

Ichigo shook his head. He didn't like pain, he just liked to feel. He tried to clear his head but he couldn't seem to do it. "I'll give you more than you can handle, boy."

Before Ichigo could think he'd been flipped. He gasped out in pain as he slammed the dislocated shoulder into the bed. In the back of his mind he was glad, though. At least he wouldn't have to look at him while he did this. He tried to bury his face in the soft covers. This wasn't how he wanted this to happen, not at all. Ichigo had wanted it to be him, not some brutish Yakuza lieutenant. He tried to concentrate on how soft and warm the bed was. It didn't help as he felt him force one of his thick fingers into him harshly. He gaged on spit and tried to concentrate on not focusing on him. It worked until he forced a second finger into him and slammed his hand into him hard. He would have screamed at that, well, he did, but no sound could emerge. Tears were falling without his bidding from the sheer amount of pain that was shooting through his body.

He heard Kuromoshi chuckle behind him and he gasped as his hips were grabbed and yanked upward. He whimpered, without sound of course, but knowing what he was going to do was enough to almost eclipse the pain in his shoulder. To his horror, Ichigo realized that he wasn't going to use anything at all. He might have been inexperienced, but he did know how this was supposed to be done. He grit his teeth together and gripped his hands in the covers. Of course, the result of knowing what was going to happen made his entire body tense, and without thinking, he was giving Kuromoshi exactly what he wanted.

"Good, good," he muttered as he knelt behind him and pressed himself against him. "Don't worry, once you bleed, it won't hurt as much," he said as he ran hands over Ichigo's hips. "Well, it will, honestly, but it will be more enjoyable for me."

When he slammed forward, Ichigo knew that if he had a voice, it would have been hoarse. He'd never felt pain like this. It was burning and sending shocks of pain down to the arches of his feet. The sensation of something tearing inside was worse, though as he felt something dripping down the backs of his thighs. He tried to get away from him, but it was no use. He'd gripped his hips and Ichigo knew he was going to have bruises from his hands. He heard him chuckle again. He pulled back and pushed into him again, slower this time, and then Ichigo gasped as he grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head backward until he was nearly sitting up on his knees.

"You bleed well, Azami. It's dripping out of you all over my cock," he growled into his ear. "Can you smell it? That coppery smell in the air?" he said and Ichigo couldn't stop the tears running down his face. "Blood, yes, all your blood. Does it feel as good as slicing open your own skin feels? Or is it simply attention you wanted in return for those cuts on your legs? No, you are physically strong, that's easy to tell. Those cuts on your legs, though, paint a different picture. It tells me how pathetic and weak you really are. You deserve this pain, boy. This and more. I'll bleed you dry if I can, and then I'll toss you aside as the worthless shell you are." The pain and the total horror at this man's words were worse than Ichigo could have imagined.

"Your mouth bleeds too," he said as he wrenched his head back onto his shoulder and kept sliding in and out of him slowly. "I'll make you bleed more than that, whore."

Ichigo gasped out as he bit down hard on his neck near where it met his body. He winced as he moved and bit down on the other side as well. Blood, so much blood, he thought as he could see it spreading on the cream colored bedding. Surely this was a bad thing if Kukoa wanted to make him his successor? Maybe it had been lies. Maybe he was sending in here to die for his defiance, for not being Azami, for still being Ichigo…

Finally, he threw Ichigo's head forward and he fell on his face to the bed, panting and gasping for breath. He began to fade in an out of consciousness, though, as he fought the black patches dancing seductively in front of his eyes. Kuromoshi kept saying things, horrible things, but Ichigo couldn't listen, he just found himself staring at a droplet of blood that had landed away from the rest. He just stared at it as he kept slamming into him again and again. Ichigo wondered when he'd be done. He'd hoped that this would take less time, but he found that Kuromoshi was intent on making it last. When he slammed into him one last time and released into him, Ichigo felt relief despite the burning sensation as he flooded his sore insides. He pulled out and Ichigo just collapsed onto the bed without him holding his body up.

He was still wearing the kimono, he realized. He'd only opened the front of it and then pushed the back of the skirt over him. It fell now, covering him, and despite everything, there was something comforting about that fact. He hurt so much, though. Everything hurt. He sobbed into the bedding, still staring at the perfect round droplet of blood just past his face. He didn't know when he left. He didn't care. He heard voices again and didn't move.

"Fuck…" one voice said. "He said he was violent but hell."

"Come on, get him to the recovery room so he doesn't bleed to death, Kukoa said he'd have our nuts if we didn't get him there after that bastard left," a second voice. "You brought gloves, right?"

"Yeah, like you said. Does he always leave them like this?"

"Only the new ones," the second said and Ichigo gasped as he felt hands on his arms. He would have screamed when he touched the injured one.

"Whoa, shit, I think he pulled his shoulder out of joint, or something…"

"Dammit, here, hold onto him, I'll pop it back," one of them said and Ichigo looked at them as the one held him up while the other grabbed his arm and pulled.

He screamed, of course, but it was silent as it went back into the socket. He faded out for a little bit from the pain and when he came back to reality he was being put on one of the beds. He heard a female voice.

"Kuromoshi?" she asked.

"You know it, we put his shoulder back in place, but he tore the shit outta this one."

There was a long sigh. "I wish he'd go to a different Kagema House," she muttered and Ichigo felt his body being moved and he almost kicked her when she touched him. "Whoa, easy now," she said and Ichigo saw her light brown eyes settle on him. "Gotta take care of this now. Iko, can you hold him down, I don't think he's really aware of what's happening," she said.

"He was the one that broke Shin's nose, anyway," Iko apparently said and Ichigo felt him lay over his chest to hold him to the bed.

"Poor thing," the woman said and Ichigo nearly kicked her again. "Oof, damn, Kira, grab his legs. He's still bleeding. Here, roll him to his side," and Ichigo felt the world spin as he was wrapped up in arms and hands and he just started breath harder and harder.

"Oh, oh, he's hyperventilating. Dammit."

There was a pinch in his thigh and everything slowed down to a crawl. The lights became fuzzy and he felt drowsy.

"There now, that's better. I know Kukoa doesn't like us to heavily sedate them unless we have to, but this one is violent. I'd rather not have my head taken off," the female voice said.

"He's this wound up with what you give him already?" the male voice said, but it was getting farther away.

"We just give the new boys a mild sedative for their first couple weeks," the female voice again but it was fading a bit now. "Just give it to them in their food so they don't realize it. Helps them adjust…"

The darkness finally crept into Ichigo's head and claimed him. He was glad, though. Very glad.


	4. Next Comes Despair

Chapter Four

Next Comes Despair

Chad, Renji – Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

Day 12 (Wednesday) – 7:00 pm

"Why don't I just Shunpo?" Renji asked under his breath.

"Because, going so fast, you miss things. If Ichigo happened to have come this way, if we're wrong and he left on his own, he might have taken this bus route. So we ask at each stop during the night if anyone saw him," Chad said with a sigh. Sometimes the quick tempered Shinigami didn't understand the necessity of slowing down.

Renji crossed his arms over his chest. He checked his pocket for the soul candy. He still was annoyed at the thought he had to sit in a seat all night. On a bus full of people, too! He grumbled at Chad again about how it was incredibly slow.

Chad and Renji had informed the others what they were planning. The responses they got were varied. Orihime had burst into tears and ran off. Uryū had shook his head at them. Urahara had nodded in silent ascent, knowing he could not dissuade them from doing everything possible. Isshin had almost started crying but had just nodded and turned away. They'd caught a bus from Karakura Town to Tokyo and a cab to the station. Now they waited with about twenty other people for the overnight bus. Chad thought that if Ichigo had gone on his own, he wouldn't have had the money for the bullet train.

They got into the bus and before long they were going off into the dark. Renji fidgeted a lot. Finally he leaned over to Chad. "Okay, so say we find him. What's the plan?"

Chad thought for a moment. "Well, if he's there by choice, I believe we should reason with him. But it will be a matter of what he decides if he will come back or not."

"And if…" Renji swallowed a ball. "And if he isn't there by choice?"

Chad looked at Renji and ran his hand down his arm. "We take him back."

Renji nodded. "No humans, this Yakuza or not, can stand up to you and a Shinigami," he muttered and settled back into the seat. "Hell, they won't even see me once I get out of Gigai."

Chad nodded. He had several ideas, but most of them involved using his power to break through any obstacle and get Ichigo away from whoever had taken him. He'd never thought much about what life would be like with him around, but Chad didn't like it. He missed him. He wanted to see him and hear him again. Chad refused to fight, but Ichigo was more than willing to step in and do it for him. He knew about Chad's dislike of hurting others. And Chad would stand between anything and Ichigo. He never realized until he was gone how much he meant to him. If he didn't find him, he would regret not being able to tell him this.

Chad glanced next to him to Renji. "What will you do when you ask him about the person he's talking about in the journal?"

Renji looked at him and shrugged. "I mean, I've been thinking about who he could be talking about. Just trying to figure it out. Who would he miss that much, you know? If it was a her, I'd say Rukia. But him? I don't know. You know how he is. The people he respects he uses their given names, even when it annoys them like with Kuchiki-taichou. So, I guess there's him, Hitsugaya-taichou, Ikkaku, Zaraki-taichou… It might be one of the Arrancar, though. I thought about that. Like that one he fought with so much that he tried to save, Grimmjow or whatever?" Renji crossed his arms over his chest. "I mean, maybe someone like Ukitake-taichou…but I don't think so. They never spent time together."

Chad nodded. "What about you?"

Renji blinked and looked at him. "I doubt that," he muttered and looked away. Chad didn't miss the look on his face though. It was a look that said he wanted it to be so, but was afraid it wasn't.

They were silent for a long time. They dozed off and on as the night passed away around them.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Renji, Chad, Adel – Kyoto

Day 13 (Thursday)– 10:00 am

"Chad, I don't want to do that again," Renji said as he stepped off the bus. He stretched his back. "That is not comfortable," he muttered.

At every stop, they had gotten off and showed Ichigo's picture to people. They found no one that had seen him. Neither one wanted to say anything, but both were getting worried that perhaps they had come to the wrong place.

Chad looked around for the distinctive figure of his friend Adel. "I do not see Adel yet," he said as he looked around.

"Where'd you meet his dude anyway?" Renji said with a sigh as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"He was visiting Karakura Town while his parents were in Tokyo. I showed him around and we kept in contact afterward," Chad said as he spotted him. "There," he said and he led Renji over to him.

As usual, Adel wore the neck corset and his shoulder length hair was free around his face. He bowed to them slightly then tapped on the tablet.

"Chad, I am glad to see you. Who is your friend?"

Renji frowned and looked at Chad.

"This is Renji Abarai, Adel. He is a friend of mine," Chad looked at Renji. "Adel is mute from an injury," he said to him.

Renji nodded and looked around. He really wanted out of the Gigai so he could look around. Without thinking he pulled Ichigo's Shinigami badge from his pocket as was holding it in his hand. Adel glanced at him, then his hand.

"That is an odd thing," he said and pointed to the badge.

Chad looked at him, and then at Renji. Renji looked at him. "You…you can see it…" he muttered.

Adel blinked and stared at Renji for a longer moment. He shook his head and gestured. "Let's get to my apartment."

Once inside, Adel turned back and looked at both of them.

Chad and Renji both looked around the room at the conglomeration of things that Adel had collected. He had some African masks on the wall, and there were a few strange musical instruments on various shelves. There were a lot of snapshots of various places in large collage frames on the walls. There was one larger framed picture of Adel with a couple that had to be his parents and a girl that looked older than him by a few years with a very young little girl. Adel saw they were looking at it.

"My mother, father, and my older sister and her daughter," came the computerized voice as he returned with a tray of coffee and various things to put in it like creams and sugars. He gestured to have them seat themselves on a low futon.

"I have a lot from my travels," he tapped in after he had sat down the tray and poured coffee from the caraff he'd brought in. "I like to collect things to remind me of where I've been. Chad knows, of course, but my parents are international business people."

Chad nodded. "You said when we met before that you traveled a great deal. You've been in Japan for quite a while now, though."

"Yes, there have been a lot of things for my parents to do here," he said with a nod.

"What business do they do?" Renji asked, with a concerned look.

"They're international consultants. They work with a lot of companies on expanding and working on integrating to the cultures they are entering. They gave me most of the books there on cultural etiquette so I could prepare myself," he pointed to a shelf heavy with various volumes in several languages.

Renji sipped at the coffee and made a face. He grabbed the sugar and doused the cup in a generous amount. "So, like, you just follow them and hang out in whatever country they go to?"

Adel smiled and took a drink of his own coffee. "Yes, I typically try to get into local cultures and meet people. Here in Kyoto, some of my father's associates have children my age, and I've been experiencing Kyoto with them. They are a raucous bunch though. I've been in more than one drinking establishment and they seem intent on proving I am not asexual like I claim."

Chad smiled and sipped his own very whitened coffee. "I'd imagine. You told me when we met that you had problems with that."

Renji frowned. "Why would not wanting sex be a problem?"

Adel looked at him. "Well, most people refuse to believe that not wanting something they greatly desire is possible. I do enjoy hiring escorts and sex workers, though. It is to show me around cities I go to. I've heard a lot of stories from them, too. It is a fascinating need that many people have, especially since I don't share it."

"I don't know much about this weird thing that humans have with sex," Renji muttered, looking away. "What's so weird about doing what you want, or not doing it?"

Chad glanced at him and wondered if Adel had caught the slip. He looked over and saw that Adel was staring at Renji now.

"Your tattoos are very unique." Adel's gaze was long, though.

Renji shrugged and ran a hand over his head, still clutching the badge. Adel wondered if he should say anything. He wanted to know, though. It wasn't every day he saw someone like this. Usually, when he did, the encounters ended badly. He had never had a direct encounter with someone who had this kind of spiritual energy, and most like him tended to ignore him. Still, though, he'd heard stories about them.

"What are you?" he tapped into the tablet as he stared at him.

Renji flinched and looked at him. "What?"

Adel's fingers flew over the screen. "You aren't human. I do not know what you are."

Renji looked at Chad and back at Adel. "Chad, can he see spirits…?"

Chad looked at him. "Do you see spirits and other things like monsters with white faces?"

Adel frowned. "The hollows?"

"Does everyone in this fucking country know what we do?" Renji growled exasperated. "Fine, look, I'm going to look, since this guy knows what I am," he muttered as he slammed his hand into the badge, his Gigai dropping as he stepped out of it. "Oh that's so much better," he said and stretched his arms over his head.

"Renji, be careful. We don't know who covers this district, they might not be happy with you running around unannounced…" Chad said.

"Meh, no one will bother me. I'm a Fuku-taichou," he said and patted his arm with the white band. "I'll be back," he said as he shunpo'd out the window into the air.

Adel watched him go. "I have seen those that are dressed like him. They do not seem to realize I see them," he said and looked at Chad. "And you, there is something different about you."

Chad nodded and started to explain what had happened to him and who Renji was. When he finished Adel tapped. "You have a fullbring."

Chad frowned. "What is this?"

"When a hollow attacks a human, and they survive the attack, some power is given to their children. I am a fullbringer as well. Your power lies in the arm that you summon. My power lies in my ability to silence the world around me."

Chad nodded. "That is why you could see Renji and the badge. Since I have this, one of my parent's was attacked."

"My mother was likely attacked while she carried me," Adel typed into the tablet. "She used to talk about waking up with this white face hovering over her bed. She said she thought it was just a nightmare in the middle of a bout of sleep paralysis, but I believe she was attacked. She said it drained her of energy or something, then everything went black. I would assume one of these Shinigami had to kill the creature since they usually don't leave those they attack alive."

"How did you come by this knowledge about what you were?" Chad asked. "We have not been able to understand how I got this power."

Adel thought for a long time. "Over the years I've come to understand what this is. I've met other Fullbringers, some good people, some very much not good people. I realized my power when I was a teen, a street preacher spouting his foolish nonsense, and I was waiting nearby. I just wanted him to shut up, and then, everything went quiet. No one could make a noise, and they looked frightened as they glanced around. Then, the sound rushed back. They all have unique and hollow like abilities. I learned of hollows from a man in Russia that taught me for a while. Another, a woman I met in Prague taught me a bit about ways to deal with hollows I came across." Adel stopped and looked at Chad. "We are human, but possessed of a great power. It is often that it turns people into monsters. We are not monsters because of what power we hold. We can become monsters, though, if we use it wrong."

Chad nodded and sighed. "My friend is a good person. He doesn't deserve to have these things happen to him."

Adel nodded. "Is your friend like us or like the…what was it, Shinigami?"

"No, he is human," Chad said with a sad smile. "He once was a Shinigami, but he sacrificed his power to defeat an enemy that threatened to destroy the World of the Living."

"Well, I can help you decide where to look," Adel's tablet said and he got up and grabbed a map of the city.

Adel marked places on the map that he believed would be likely for someone to end up. He was almost down when Renji landed on the lip of the window and dropped down into the room again.

"Nothing, this is a big city, though," Renji said as he flopped onto the floor in exasperation.

"Renji we have just arrived, and there is a lot of places to look. We should begin." Chad turned to Adel. "Thank you, we'll come back before evening is done. Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo – Kagema House

Day 11(Tuesday) – 1:00 pm

Ichigo had spent the last three days in the recovery room. He felt like every part of him hurt all at once. Kukoa had come and spoken with him a couple times. It didn't make Ichigo feel any better. He spent most the time lying on his side and avoiding anything that required sitting. He had never imagined feeling so disgusting after something like this. He didn't know how to feel otherwise though. He wanted to just hide away in his mind. He wanted to forget Ichigo. Azami, the Kagema, was so much easier to be right now. Ichigo was a fighter, a person that wouldn't give up or give in. Azami, though, Azami was pitiful, weak, and worthless.

Knowing that they had been giving them sedatives didn't make him feel better. He guessed it should, after all, it was what made him feel sluggish and unable to react in the ways he wanted to react to things. Still, though, he had this idea that he should have been able to get himself out of the situation no matter what. He should have thrown off the effects of the sedative somehow. He should have been able to fight through it. He hadn't been able to do so. He'd let that man hurt him. He'd let it happen. He couldn't stand that thought. It was worse than anything he had thought and the urge to cut into his own body was so strong that he wanted to use his fingernails.

Kukoa came in and smiled at him. "Ah, my dear, you are looking better. The good news is that your future clients will not be like him. I regret how injured you were, but the others would not have endured. I knew that when the team said it took them all to subdue you. It is very rare that I gain a Kagema that is so capable of fighting. I was so much like you, fighting them to the last."

Ichigo swallowed thickly. Kukoa continued. "Come, time to get ready for your next client," he said with a smile.

Ichigo didn't like the fact that he still felt terrible the last thing he wanted to do was have another client. He didn't want to do any of this. He followed though, because he knew that the consequences of not doing as Kukoa said were far worse than the humiliation he was about to suffer.

After Kukoa assisted Ichigo with the preparations, something that he still found humiliating beyond belief, he took him to a room that looked similar to the one from the night before. He realized what the "thunk" had been, there was a wooden sign on the door that said "In Use" on it. How nice, he thought to himself. They don't want people to walk in on whores. He looked up to see someone else leading Nakimushi toward them. He tilted his head to side and looked at Kukoa.

"You have a special client once again. Usually, there is a series of trainings that I do with my new Kagema before they begin having clients. These clients are those that request new Kagema that are untrained, like your first client. He had been on a list some time to have a new Kagema to sate his perverse desires. This one tonight requests new Kagema as well. He requests two, and his tastes…are unusual. I am certain that you can handle this, Azami."

Ichigo still hated the name. Azami. He wasn't Azami. But really, would being Azami be so bad? If he was Azami, then he wouldn't be so humiliated, because it wouldn't be Ichigo Kurosaki that was being subjected to these horrible things, it would be Azami. He glanced a Nakimushi and wondered what his name had been. He supposed he didn't mind working the same client with Nakimushi. He was a very cute boy, after all. He was wearing a kimono with cherry blossoms all over it. Ichigo's was, like the last time, covered in lotus blossoms, this time, though, they were pink on a light cream colored background. He was beginning not to mind the kimonos. He'd never worn women's clothes before, but he rather liked the way they felt.

Ichigo flinched when the door opened and Kukoa led them in. "Here are Azami and Nakimushi," he said and bowed to the two men waiting inside the room. He backed out and closed the door.

"You are both lovely," came a voice beside them. Both Ichigo and Nakimushi turned to see a very young man, perhaps sixteen or less, standing beside a much older man in a suit. The younger of them had on a long yukata and was staring intently at them.

"Do you wish me to stay, son?" the older man asked. It would seem that the older man was the Yakuza member instead of the younger one.

"No, father, please, leave us. A long night is ahead of me," he said with a smirk.

The older man left and the younger circled them. "I have some peculiar tastes," he commented. He stood shorter than Ichigo, but taller than Nakimushi. He smiled and tipped Nakimushi's face up.

"Remove your clothes," he said and turned his back.

Ichigo and Nakimushi both did as he asked. Both of them had clients that had left them unwilling to test Kukoa's patience. Ichigo saw that Nakimushi's body was as marked as his own. Large bruises blossomed over his ribs, hips, and thighs. Ichigo didn't look much better, his neck, hips, and arms were marked up as badly. Nakimushi's legs had some deep scratches on them. The young man reached down and gasped Nakimushi's flaccid member in his hand and played with him until he'd grown to full arousal. He was wincing and holding his breath to keep from cumming before anything had happened. He stopped back and looked over Ichigo.

"Good. Now, Nakimushi, I want you to force yourself on him," he said as he walked over to a chair near the door and sat down.

Ichigo and Nakimushi exchanged a look of curiosity. "Are you going to do what I've asked or not? I can tell Kukoa that his new Kagema are useless. I want you, the small boy, to take your dick, and fuck the taller one here while he tries to resist you. You will overpower him, of course, and then you will fuck him as I watch, as many times I want to watch you do it to him. I like to watch strong, powerful boys and men humiliated by someone much younger or smaller than they are."

Ichigo glanced at Nakimushi and saw something he hadn't noticed before. He looked at Ichigo with a look akin to what the other man had looked at him. Ichigo knew he could easily overpower the much smaller boy but he realized that they had been prepared for this. He felt sluggish and dull, and it seemed Nakimushi was clear headed. Kukoa knew what this guy wanted, and he'd had Ichigo sedated. It made sense. Nakimushi and the other three wouldn't fight, so there was no real need to drug them. Kukoa had said himself that he knew Ichigo would fight still.

It was like he was in slow motion and Nakimushi was in super speed as he grabbed Ichigo's hands and spun him around and tripped him onto the floor hard. Ichigo blinked, eyes wide and surprised as the smaller boy manhandled him easily. Had Nakimushi been coached on what to do? He had to have been because he was far too timid for this sort of thing. Ichigo gasped as he felt his hands ghost over his hips and there was urgency to his fingers. This was more than doing what he had been instructed. All the times that Nakimushi had sat beside him, touched him, or smiled at him came back. Was he enacting some fantasy of his own? He gulped down something that would have been a sob if he had been able to speak.

Ichigo looked at the boy watching them. He was intent on what they were doing. Nakimushi's hands were all over him, and while he didn't think he'd mind this so much, he didn't want it at all like this. He pushed in between Ichigo's legs and ran hands up and down the inside of his thighs. Ichigo knew the client wanted him to act resistant, but honestly it wasn't an act. Ichigo would do what he said because he really didn't want Kukoa to stick in in the same room with another violent bastard. Ichigo started to push him away and to his shock, Nakimushi slapped him. Ichigo looked at him and was actually getting irritated with him. He started to strike upward when Nakimushi balled up his fist and hit him right in the center of his forehead.

The world spun out of sync for a minute and he was wondering just what the hell had happened. He crashed back into reality when he felt Nakimushi drive into him without any warning. Ichigo didn't think such a small guy would hurt that much. Then, he'd only been torn in several places a couple of days ago. He felt his back bow as he lacked the strength to push him away. What bothered Ichigo, though, wasn't what Nakimushi was doing, it was the look on his face. He was pleased with what he was doing, very much so. He thought Nakimushi was like him at all. He had thought he was a good person that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't think it had been that at all.

Ichigo tried to cover his face and Nakimushi pushed away his hands and grinned at him. 'No' he mouthed at him and dove down to suck at his throat. He'd pulled his legs across his body, and pressed him into a very folded position. Ichigo thought his back was going to break from it. He felt tears already from the pain, and humiliation.

Several more scenes were played out for their client, and Ichigo seriously thought he was going to pass out. He'd bled some, but Nakimushi didn't seem to mind that. The client came over and tipped up Ichigo's face and smiled.

"Open," he muttered and Ichigo felt Nakimushi grab his chin. To his surprise he wrenched his mouth open forcefully and used his other hand to slide under him.

"Good, good," the boy said as he used Ichigo's mouth mercilessly. Having never done this, or even had it done to him, he became nothing more than a receptacle for this boy that had to be younger than he was. Eventually, he finished and stepped back from them. He glanced at them both.

"Good. You did well. You, I think you enjoyed this, didn't you?" he commented as he looked at Nakimushi. He was sitting on his knees holding Ichigo up in his lap. "You are a little minx," he muttered and left the room after gathering his things.

Nakimushi kissed Ichigo's neck then, surprising him. Ichigo turned and pushed him away as he fell off his lap. Nakimushi sat for a moment then made a strange face. He moved and grabbed Ichigo by the hair and wrenched his head around to kiss him. Ichigo growled and tried to push him away, but he was still out of it from whatever he'd been given. He pulled back and ran a hand over Ichigo's head and smiled at him. It wasn't a gentle smile, though. Ichigo shook his head and stumbled to his feet, still feeling out of it. He got his kimono and struggled with it for a moment.

He flinched when he felt Nakimushi helping him into it. He had no idea what to think about him right now. Ichigo wrapped the kimono around him and crossed his arms and looked at him again. He still had that oddly pleased, leering look in his eyes. Ichigo didn't like that at all. The door opened then, and both of them saw that Kukoa was coming for them.

"Good job, Nakimushi. Head back to your room," he said with a smirk.

Nakimushi left and Ichigo looked at Kukoa. "He's possessive of you, you know," Kukoa said as he took Ichigo's arm. Ichigo frowned and arced his brow at him. "Yes, he got very upset when I suggested that Hinto take this job with you since his experience was nearly as violent as yours with his first client. He grew very angry at the thought. You will do well to watch him closely, Azami."

Ichigo stumbled alongside him and nodded as he continued. "He has a wicked heart," Kukoa said as he got into the recovery room and flagged one of the nurses. "He is one of the Kagema I've taken in that were made for this business. They enjoy this, and they enjoy hurting others in return."

Ichigo nodded and was asleep to the sound of talking around him before he was even all the way laying on the bed.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 17(Monday) – 7:00 pm

Chad, Renji, Adel – Adel's Apartment, Kyoto

Chad sat on Adel's futon and stared at his hands. So far there had been nothing. They had found nothing. Renji had spent more time in his soul form than anything. They'd found the local Shinigami and talked to them, and he didn't have a lot of information other than the Yakuza were dangerous. They often had to perform Konso on those that had been killed by them, or on them. Some were glad to be released from the world, others weren't. Chad looked up as Renji hopped down through the window with a furious look on his face.

"Anything?" Chad knew the answer already.

"Not a damn thing. It's like these people don't exist," he muttered as he flopped down on the futon.

"Of course not, you will not find information through regular channels," Adel's computerized voice said as he walked into the room. He had hoped they wouldn't' need his help, but it was obvious that this was going to take some of his own connections.

"What do you suggest?" Chad asked.

Adel thought for a moment. "The people that would know of this kind of thing aren't walking about like anyone else. We should try and find someone that is involved in the Yakuza. I think I might know someone, though."

Chad and Renji exchanged a look as Adel dialed a phone number on his tablet and a voice answered over the speaker.

"Adel, hey man, you need something?" came an oddly accented somewhat feminine voice.

"Yes, can we meet? I wish to ask you about some of your connections," Adel's computer voice said.

"Sure, usual?" the other voice asked. Chad wasn't sure if it was male or female.

"Fine, two hours?"

"See you there, man," the voice answered.

Adel looked at them. "Don't worry, Vanessa is a good person. She's American."

Chad and Renji both nodded and waited patiently until Adel told them it was time to go. They all headed out and after a bit ended up in a very seedy looking part of town. They went into a small pho place and sat down. A minute later a tall, muscular looking woman came and sat down with them. She smiled.

"What's going on, your friends, Adel?" she said with a smile.

"Yes, this is Renji and Chad," Adel's tablet said as he pointed to each in turn. "This is Vanessa," he said with a smile. "Vanessa, I need to see if you can help my friends."

"I can try," she said with a smile. "What's going on?"

Renji looked at Chad then to her. "Okay, so this started when our friend disappeared…" After a full explanation of what they knew so far she sat and stared at her electric blue nails for a long moment. He of course, left out the fact that he was a Shinigami.

"Disappearance without a trace? Police ignoring it? Warnings to stay off the trail?" she said thoughtfully as she pulled her long blonde hair up in a ponytail. "Definitely Yakuza."

"Excuse me, but how do you know so much about this sort of stuff?" Chad said with a frown.

"I'm INTERPOL, organized crime and drug trafficking division," she said with a smile. "Actually, this pho place here is one of our bases in Japan. That's why it is safe to talk here. I hate to tell you this, boys, but the chance of finding your friend is slim to none. People that disappear like this…there's not a lot of hope. You said the man who you think is connected is one named Kukoa who had been a Kagema?"

Renji nodded. "I mean, I know what a Kagema is, it isn't like I haven't seen them, where I'm from there's a Kagema House in the rough part of the place, but I didn't think they existed here," he said, glancing between her and Chad.

"These Yakuza are old school. They often apply the tattoos the old way, with the bamboo reeds. It is excruciating and leads to possible future liver damage, for those that have their bodies covered. If someone causes shame to them, they cut joints off their little finger onward, of their own fingers, otherwise they'll be killed. They have a family structure, the leaders are fathers, the lowers big brothers and little brothers, you see it is all very traditional. This includes using Kagema. Illegitimate children are a problem for these men. Kagema offer the ability to have carnal relationships without the danger of dealing with pregnancy of other escorts. These boys are highly skilled and trained in what they do. I've been on a sting or two where we've raided houses with Kagema. Those that are trained in the Yakuza's way are dangerous. They all know how to fight and are fiercely loyal to them," she said as she stirred her green tea.

"So…" Renji asked. "He…he wouldn't have been taken to be a guard, would he?"

Vanessa shook her head. "Not likely, they have no shortage of men willing to give their life. No, they don't kidnap people for that sort of reason. No, most likely if Kukoa was involved, he was taken into his Kagema House here in Kyoto. That is one of the reasons I'm here, working on their sex and drug trafficking organization."

"Why?" Renji asked with a deep frown. "Why would they take him to this Kagema House?"

"Describe your friend to me, please," she said as Adel excused himself to the rest room. He had drunk way too much coffee earlier.

Renji thought. "Ah, here," he said and pulled the folded picture from his pocket of Ichigo and Chad. She looked at it for a long moment.

"No doubt, that's where he is, I'm sorry," she said and pushed the picture over to him.

Renji stared at it then looked at her. "Why do you say that?" he asked as he put the picture back in his pocket. Adel sat down as she started talking again.

"He fits the profile of the people they snatch. Usually unique looking individuals, thinner, slightly effeminate, and alone. If he was walking alone in a known grab area, then there's no other option. I can check in with a couple of my contacts." She sighed. "They don't grab people directly. There are several independent Yakuza affiliated contractor teams. They move alongside other operations and if the opportunity to grab a person for the human trafficking rings comes up, they capture them and sell them off at auctions to the various brothel owners. There are three major Kagema houses, not counting individual buyers that take personal Kagema."

Adel tapped into his tablet. "I can check with my parents. They may have some contacts." Vanessa nodded at him.

Chad and Renji looked at each other. "What do we do?" Chad asked.

"I'll see what I can find, you two stop nosing around in Yakuza business, you're both going to get yourselves killed. They don't take wall to people asking questions about their property."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 12 (Wednesday) – 5:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House

Ichigo wasn't really sure what to think as he curled into a ball, once again, in the recovery room. He didn't know what to think of the way Nakimushi had acted, or what Kukoa had said afterward about him having a wicked heart. Ichigo had been restless all night, though. He had skipped food the night before, and refused any drink as well. He wanted to see if he could do something without being sedated. It had taken several hours but his head began to clear around four in the morning. He watched the patrolling schedule and thought that he might just be able to make it down the hallway. He'd managed to put together a map of the place in his head and he was going to try. It would only work when he was in the recovery room, though. He still got shackled when he was put in here, but he'd just have to break his hand to get out of it.

He figured he was dead if he got caught, but he was strangely comfortable with that idea. At least this humiliation would be over. He waited until the "nurse" had come by and checked on him, he wasn't actually sure what these "little sisters" as they were called were. He pulled his wrist toward him with the metal handcuff on it. He used his teeth to cut into the base of his hand to get it to bleed. He waited as he let the blood seep from the wound and down around his wrist. He grit his teeth together and used his left hand to push his thumb inward as far as possible. He growled under his breath as he pushed it past that point and heard a crackling sound. He felt pain shoot up his arm and down into his hand as he pulled. The blood around his hand made it slippery and the bones crackled again as he pulled it free. He paused to pant for a few moments. He had about two minutes before she came back by, and thirty before the guard in the hallway came back. He wrapped his kimono around him tightly and dropped to a crouch and slipped out the doorway and into the hall. He paused, seeing no one, and then dashed for the farthest hall that he hadn't been down yet. If his thinking was correct, it would lead to a stairwell or elevator since there were none accessible in this part. The only other exit was on the far side of the floor where he'd come in.

Ichigo hit the door with his shoulder as he ran through it into a dead end. There was nothing, no doors, no nothing, just nothing. He shook his head and saw the door open and two guards were coming after him. He wasn't going to waste this chance. He managed to drop to the floor and sweep one's legs out from under him and pop up to shoulder the other guy into the other doorway. He dashed through it and had no idea where to go now. He knew which way the elevator he came in was, so he thought he'd try that. He got through another couple doors and found himself in the first room he'd been in. He stopped and went toward the glass windows. He stopped and gasped out loud. He had to be sixty or seventy floors up. He turned and saw two other guards waiting behind him. The difference between them and him was that Ichigo didn't care if he hurt them. They had no doubt been told not to damage the Kagema. He tried to shoulder one of them but he grabbed him by the arm and swung him down hard. His head bounced with a sick crack on the floor and light exploded in his eyes. He moaned soundlessly but managed to roll away before he kicked him. He blinked because his right eye was blurry. He closed it and had almost gotten to the door to what he thought might be a stairwell when he felt heat explode one either side of his head.

He turned and saw Kukoa, his lighter in one hand and an arc of flame bent over his head starting at the lighter. It was resting in his open palm on the other side, dancing and swaying there. "Azami, you are a very naughty boy to make me use my powers."

Ichigo stared as Kukoa made the flame flicker and writhe on his palm. "This is why you aren't leaving, Azami. This. I'm not the only one here, we have a nice little group going. You met the doctor. And you have no idea who the others are. I can fight fine without my…enhancements…but this helps. I felt you needed a real reason that you'll never escape me, my dear. You are mine, and you won't leave."

Ichigo had no idea what this guy was. He couldn't sense reiatsu but he didn't think it was the same as anything he'd ever seen. He wasn't a Quincy, and he definitely wasn't a Shinigami. He was thinking this over as his head exploded in pain again and the world went sideways. He giggled for a moment because for a second it looked like his inner world a bit.

Ichigo came to consciousness in that weird way that happened when he'd been knocked unconscious. Wait, what had happened? He winced as pain shot through his head and he groaned. He felt someone shine light into his eyes and it lanced pain into his head. He fluttered his eyes open and he found himself looking at Kukoa. Something was wrong though. He looked wrong. He blinked and just couldn't get the world to look right.

"Tut tut, my dear. Weren't you a naughty little thing, trying to run like that? I commend your commitment, though. You broke four bones in your hand in that stunt and got a very nasty concussion. But you managed to make yourself even more exotic looking in the process," he said and handing him a mirror.

Ichigo reached out and took it in his left hand and blinked. Now he understood why everything looked weird. His right eye was white almost, like it had a translucent film over it. "The doctor says it isn't likely you'll get vision back. I believe he suggested making sure you don't get another concussion or you might kill yourself. Before you think that's an option, though, understand that he also said you could just maim yourself or lose all your vision, so it isn't a sure thing that you would die."

Ichigo gave him the mirror and gestured with his hands to mimic what he'd done with the fire. Kukoa smiled. "You don't seem all that surprised by my Fullbring. Interesting, does my naughty little Azami have experience with things outside the realm of human experiences?"

Ichigo scowled deeply at him and shook his head. "Ah, you have seen something like this. Well, it's a long story, and I've no intention of telling a pathetic human like you about it. Just know that I have these powers, and I will use them against you." He smiled. "Tomorrow, my dear, you're going to learn why you don't try to run from me. Enjoy your rest. You'll need it."

Kukoa turned to the nurse. "Dose him intramuscularly. Make sure he's sedated enough to be unable to leave this room. Shackle him on four points, as well. He's not going anywhere again."

Ichigo winced as his arms were pulled down and hooks slipped through the rings on the cuffs, then the same thing happened at his ankles. The little nurse, the one with short blond hair and a vicious smile, brought over a syringe and stabbed him harder than necessary in the leg. He gasped and then the sedative hit him hard. The world spun away and everything was blissfully blank for a while.


	5. Then Comes Acceptance

Chapter Five

Then Comes Acceptance

Day 13 (Thursday) – 9:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House

Ichigo couldn't seem to wake up completely as he was led stumbling to the elevator. The haze around his head was thick this time, and there was no fighting whoever was dragging him along. He knew there were two on him as he felt the elevator go down a few floors. They led him out and into a white room where they dropped him to the floor and left him. He teetered for a second where he sat before he fell face first onto the floor. He flinched as he felt someone putting a hand on his back.

"Oh, my poor dear. You should be waking up soon, because you must be awake for your punishment."

Ichigo felt himself being lifted to his feet and he blinked as he felt his yukata being removed. He stared at Kukoa with a questioning look for a long moment as the fuzz started to clear out of his brain slowly. He stared down at the fact he was now naked but he really had gotten used to being like this. He felt himself being jerked toward one of the walls and there was something against the wall, some sort of rope contraption. Kukoa pulled his wrists up behind him and hooked the cuffs to something and he felt himself being lifted in that awkward position. He gasped as the pressure on his shoulders increased with his own weight. He panted for a moment as Kukoa walked away. His toes were just touching the floor. He looked up at him.

"I'll be back in a couple hours, my dear. I'll cross my fingers that you don't dislocate your shoulders before I return. This is just the beginning, of course."

Ichigo would have screamed himself hoarse by the time he'd come back if he'd had a voice. Kukoa let him down and he felt like he had almost dislocated his shoulders. He blinked and realized that he was being tied in some sort of rope harness. He frowned as his ankles were crossed and tied one on top of the other. His arms were bound up behind his back and then Kukoa looped a rope around his neck and it connected to the one on his ankle. It left about five inches between his neck and his ankles. The pressure on his back was incredible. Now his hips felt like they were on fire too. He whimpered but there were no sounds to emerge.

"You do bear pain well; I shall see you in the morning. Then I have a medieval torture device that I modified for my naughty little boys. The other version would cause death, but this one is just very, very painful."

Ichigo gasped in pain as he left him. He couldn't move, he couldn't sleep, and there was nothing he could do to lessen the pain. He couldn't even think about anything that could be worse than this. He felt tears streaming down his cheeks and he just wanted to be let out of this horrible position.

Day 14 (Friday) – 11:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House "Punishment" Room

"My dear Azami," came Kukoa's voice and Ichigo thought he was going to go out of his mind with relief. He'd do anything to get him to release him. "You look uncomfortable, shall we move you?"

Ichigo couldn't help the tears streaming at the relief from the pain he was in. It was short lived of course. "Now, there's this awful little torture device called a Judas Cradle that they used to impale people on in medieval Europe. Now, it was deadly, and it really ripped whatever orifice it was inserted into apart. It was also a type of humiliation. Those medieval Europeans certainly liked to stick things in people's holes for torture. Pussy, ass, or mouth, they certainly loved to use things on them liberally, some of which I have in my collection. I'll show you one day, collecting ancient torture devices is a hobby of mine, but I digress. The Judas Cradle, so nasty. So I've made it so you can't die, but you'll be in extreme pain while you're on this lovely thing. It also has the advantage to making my sweet Kagema that endure it a lot more…ah…open."

Ichigo had heard only part of what he'd said, well, understood, rather. He felt himself being pulled toward a wall and he saw that the rope rigging had been altered. After a few minutes, his arms had been bound on his back tightly. He tied his ankles to his thighs and then used the rope to pull him to a semi-kneeling, semi-standing position balancing on the balls of his feet. He thought for a moment that was it, but he was very wrong. He watched as he slid something under him and gasped as he felt it slide inside him. He looked at Kukoa with a panicked expression.

"Don't worry, it's well lubed, my dear," he said as he pressed down on Ichigo's shoulders. "Don't want any permanent damage, you know."

Ichigo gasped as he felt it start very thin and grow larger and larger until he had tears streaming down his face. "The base of this lovely thing is about oh three inches across, and it expands from the top, with that little bit at a half an inch. Now, you'll be able to hold yourself over it, but you'll tire, and eventually, your legs won't hold you up, and you'll end up taking all of it. How long you suffer with the full thing inside you will depend on how long you can hold yourself up, my dear," he said as he stepped back.

Ichigo looked at him with pleading eyes. Kukoa smirked. "You will understand that you will not try to leave me, my dear. Never," he said and turned and left him again.

He had no idea how long he held out. It wasn't hard to do at first, but eventually, his legs were trembling and he slipped down onto it a ways. He gasped out in surprise as it forced itself halfway inside him. It felt like he was going to come apart. Eventually, though, he couldn't hold himself up. He had no idea how long it was but he was sure he was going to come unglued. He couldn't fall asleep, he couldn't move. Everything hurt as he felt the muscles in his legs and arms spasm.

An eternity passed before the door opened again and he looked to see Kukoa. "Oh, aren't you pretty all stuffed with that. Took you longer than most, I have to hand it to you on endurance. Several long hours before you slipped down all the way. You really lasted most the day, my dear. Now, the fun part," he said as he knelt down beside Ichigo. Ichigo frowned because he stabbed a needle into his cock near the base. He gasped as he felt whatever it was send all the blood shooting to it. "You're going to orgasm like this, Azami. In the amount of pain you are no doubt in, stretched wide like this, you will cum for me."

Ichigo looked at him in utter mortification. This was one thing that he hadn't had to do yet. "Yes, you see, you'll learn to satisfy your clients, and when they wish this, you will do it no matter what kind of pain you're in, understand?"

Ichigo didn't think that was possible until Kukoa slid down on him with his mouth. Ichigo gasped and if he hadn't been in such an odd position might have made him arch at the sensation. Ichigo found out quickly that Kukoa was an expert at these things and it didn't take long before he'd brought Ichigo to orgasm three times. Ichigo didn't think that he could have even gone once. After he was done, Kukoa finally let him down and took the awful thing with him. Kukoa smiled and kissed his forehead. He then left the room. At least this time Ichigo was unbound. He shivered in the center of the room for a long time. He had nothing in the room save the horrible whiteness.

Day 15 (Saturday) – 9:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House "Punishment" Room

"Morning, my dear," Ichigo heard as he looked up from where he'd curled into a ball during the night or whatever it was that he had been asleep for. Kukoa had a tray and Ichigo smelled something. He crawled toward him slowly.

Kukoa sat down in the center of the room and put the tray down. There was a bowl of water and a bowl of what looked like rice porridge. He grabbed Ichigo by the hair as he came closer to him. "Eat like a dog, boy, if you want to eat," he whispered.

Ichigo didn't care, he hadn't eaten in so long that he didn't even think enough to care. He had no shame at the moment. He was simply starving. He felt Kukoa run his hands over his hair and he thought he had never felt something so nice in his life. "While you're here, my dear, it is time to learn a few things you will need when you get to work with clients who are interested in pleasure and not simply violently fucking someone. So first, we'll practice oral. Finish, and then you're going to learn some technique, my dear."

Ichigo would do anything if it meant not being tied up in one of those horrible positions again. By the end of his time, Ichigo knew more about sucking someone's cock than he thought possible. Kukoa was very skilled, and Ichigo made it through some very intensive lessons, including tolerating rough throat fucking, with only one incident of vomiting. He'd been a very good instructor, actually, and had been thorough, showing Ichigo with his own mouth what reactions he needed to elicit from his clients.

When Kukoa was done, though, he trussed Ichigo up into another awful position for the night. This time he'd taken a bar and wrapped his arms around it and tied his hands spread out. He'd also tied his calves to his thighs again, making it impossible to lay down or get comfortable.

Day 16 (Sunday) – 10:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House "Punishment" Room

Kukoa arrived the next day and undid the bindings on Ichigo and he immediately collapsed, both from exhaustion and relief at the reduction in pain. Once again, he had been unable to sleep at all, and he felt like he was coming apart at the seams.

"Now, today, we'll be working on other techniques," Kukoa said and Ichigo quickly realized what this was. Kukoa had brought a bag of things with him. "You'll have clients that want to watch you pleasure yourself, and you'll have clients that want you to uses these devices on yourself. So we'll go over them."

Ichigo had never seen such things, but after a very long time, he figured out what all of them were done. Some he liked more than others. By the time they were done, Ichigo thought he was numb from the waist down.

Kukoa smiled at him. "You may sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we'll have one last round of lessons, and then you'll be taken back."

Ichigo collapsed into the corner again. Azami. He was Azami, not Ichigo, he thought to himself. Ichigo wouldn't let this happen. Ichigo wouldn't learn to enjoy such torture. No, no, he had to let go of Ichigo because if he didn't, he was going to lose his mind completely.

Day 17 (Monday) – 8:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House "Punishment Room"

The whiteness was almost worse than the torture. He couldn't stand it much more. The door opened and once more, Kukoa came in with a tray of water and porridge. Ichigo felt him rub his head gently as he ate and drank like one starving. He then smiled at him.

"Today, my dear, we'll learn something about using seduction and pleasures on your client. You are not some regular whore. You're a Voiceless Kagema. You have poise, grace, and the ability to make a client feel like the only person in the world you've ever been with. So that is what we do today. If you do well, you'll be allowed to leave tomorrow," he said with a gentle smile as he ran his fingers through Ichigo's slowly lengthening hair.

Ichigo nodded and realized that there was a so much more to this than simply being used. His head was buzzing with all the information and as he practiced things on Kukoa. The things he learned about seducing people were interesting, and if he hadn't been forced into this, he might have found it fascinating. There were so many ways to communicate other than with one's voice, and he couldn't believe how much information could be conveyed through facial expressions and body language. He came to understand that one of the reasons that being Voiceless was a benefit was that by not having a voice, they became incredibly capable at communicating with their bodies. Everything, every motion with the face, hands, body, everything was a way to tell others information. At the end of their work, Kukoa praised him endlessly. Finally, Kukoa smiled at him.

"Come, show me your learning," he said as slid his own slacks down off his hips and gestured to him. Ichigo nodded and crawled toward him.

Kukoa sat down and Ichigo came and straddled him. Ichigo worked his hands over him and used his tongue on the sensitive areas of his neck and throat. Before long, he had him aroused and appreciatively returning the kissing and sucking bites. Kukoa smiled. "You must use your face, and your body to relay things without your voice, my dear, even in the middle of pleasuring the client."

Ichigo slipped down onto Kukoa's cock easily. The last few days had made it almost unnecessary to prep anymore. He used every subtle movement and every touch to relay his desire, even if it was false. He was making it believable though, and he felt Kukoa respond under him. Kukoa reached between them and stroked Ichigo until he crested, and brought himself over as well. Ichigo clung to him and panted. He hoped that he'd done well enough that he'd let him leave this horrible room.

"I'll come for you tomorrow, my dear. Tomorrow you'll begin working for real. You need practice, so you'll spend two weeks on the open floor before I book you scheduled clients," Kukoa said and kissed his neck gently. "This is your punishment for trying to escape me, my dear. Normally, I wouldn't have you work on the floor for this."

Ichigo nodded at him and looked down. Whatever it took to get out of this horrible room, he would do it. Anything. Azami had no shame.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 22 (Saturday) – 8:00 pm

Adel – Kagema House

Adel found himself being led by the hand into a large building. It was one of the nicer business office buildings in Kyoto. He sighed deeply as Haru and the others chatted excitedly about where they were going. Adel just hoped that they would leave him alone after this. They went up to the top floor and when the door opened there was an armed man standing in the way asking for identification. They went through a few minutes later and walked down to another doorway that was locked. Kouta put in a code into the pad and they walked in.

Adel saw it was a tastefully decorated room with seating of all sorts around it. Several types of couches and futons were placed about the room. There were several young men, the Kagema, Adel assumed, seated or reclined on them. The others wandered around and Adel waited patiently. Finally, Haru came and grabbed his arm.

"Adel-kun, we've paid for you to have one tonight!" he said excitedly. "They're all trained in the arts of love, so even if you say you are asexual, this will put that to the test for certain!"

Adel tapped into his tablet, "Look, I understand what you think, but I'm telling you it will not matter…"

"Nonsense!" Kouta exclaimed as he pulled one of the young men to stand. He was chatting excitedly with him in moments as they went off toward the back.

Adel watched as the Hiroshi picked a boy with red hair. Haru paused with the pretty blond boy he'd chosen on his arm. "I'm not going until you pick one…"

Adel had hoped to get away with just sitting around in this room and talking to the Kagema. He looked around and his eyes settled on a Kagema with a crop of wild orangey red colored hair. He sat curled into the corner of a sofa in a beautiful white kimono covered in pink lotus blossoms. His short hair was pinned up with several barrettes, though it was short enough to not need them. It was that sort of state that it was obvious it used to be much shorter and was growing out. What caught his attention was the thick collar studded with rivets and rings and the cuffs he wore that matched it. That, and he looked incredibly sad. He pointed to him and Haru waved over the attendant.

"Are you certain? He is somewhat willful and new. His name is Azami," the attendant said with a frown. "He may prove more than you can handle."

Adel nodded and looked at Haru. Haru nodded. "So be it!" he said and wandered off with the blond boy he'd chosen.

The attendant walked over to the boy and whispered something to him. He started and glanced over at Adel. Curious, Adel thought. He stood up and Adel saw that he had a set of riveted and ringed ankle cuffs as well. He came toward him and kept his head bowed.

"This way," the attendant said and led Adel and his Kagema for the evening toward a room in the back. He bowed away and the door shut and latched.

Adel looked at the young man and realized he was trembling. That was strange, he thought to himself. He looked around the room and saw it was a large bedroom but he realized that the bed was a bit odd. He walked over to it and realized the reason for his collar and cuffs. The bed had clips and hooks along the head and foot, both of which were black metal. Adel saw that he hadn't moved from the spot he'd left him. He sighed and pulled his tablet from his pocket.

"Come, sit," he typed into it. When the computer voice spoke the boy looked up at him in surprise. He moved carefully over to sit down beside Adel. "Why are you afraid?"

He looked at Adel with a frown and then pointed to the tablet. Adel smiled and typed into it. "I lost my voice a long time ago, I use this to speak." He untied the neck corset to reveal the jagged, rough edged scar that ran across his throat.

The look on Azami's face surprised Adel greatly. He pointed to the tablet and then to himself. Adel realized he hadn't made a sound at all. He nodded and handed him the tablet. He looked over it for a second then tapped into it.

"I can't speak either," the voice said out loud. He grinned and looked at Adel happily.

Adel leaned over and placed the tablet between them and typed into it. "Why have you lost your voice?"

"They took it."

Adel glanced at him and then tapped again. "What does that mean? Who took it? How?"

Azami opened his mouth and pointed into his throat. "These people, they cut my voice out."

Adel looked shocked for a minute then typed into it quickly. "Why would they do something like that?"

Azami sighed and shrugged, rubbing his hands over his upper arms before the typed again. "I'm not here because I want to be."

"What?" Adel looked at him for a long moment to see if he was serious.

"I can't say much more, if they find out, they'll kill me. And the others. So I'm Azami now and that's all I am, a Kagema, a Voiceless."

Adel looked for a long time. "You weren't always Azami?"

He shook his head sadly. "I was someone else. I had a family and I loved them. I had someone, well more than one someone, I wanted to tell I loved them more than life. I had a lot of things. I can't ever go back. This is my life now. Azami."

"Who were you before?" Adel thought that maybe he could tell the police or find his family.

He shook his head furiously. "No, no, don't. I shouldn't have used your tablet to talk at all. I can't. You can't save me. No one can. I'm lost."

Adel stared at him, his big brown eyes reflecting a sadness of someone who had truly given up on the thought of changing his situation. "Why?"

He looked away. "Just fuck me and get it over with."

"No."

He turned and narrowed his eyes at him. "What?"

"I didn't come here for that. My friends, they don't believe me when I say I'm asexual. So they said if I came here with them, that they would let me be about it. I like to talk to people. I like to see and be around people I find beautiful and you are indeed beautiful."

Azami looked at him and then tapped. "Could you stay and let me sleep? I'm so tired. I got in trouble and they're making me work the floor for the next week or so."

"What did you get in trouble for?"

He sighed. "I tried to escape," he said and laid back on the bed. Adel saw the tears in the corners of his eyes and he felt a pang of hurt deeply.

"Can I help you?" he tapped and handed it back.

Azami shook his head. "No, no one can help me. They have police in their payroll, they have everyone they need."

Azami handed it back and Adel thought for a moment. "They're Yakuza, aren't they?"

Azami looked at him wide eyed for a moment then shook his head for a moment but Adel saw what he needed to see. Yakuza would have been the only people to have the ability to run a brothel like this. Still, as he watched the young man fade into a restless sleep, he knew he had to try to do something. He pulled the edge of his kimono up and was disturbed by the patterns of bruising up over his hips. He turned the table around and snapped pictures of the condition he was in, then dropped the kimono back onto him. He rolled him to his back and took a picture of his lovely face. He was beautiful, to be honest. He had very soft hair that looked like it was starting to grow out from being rather short.

He let the young man sleep for a while until he got a text on his phone asking where he was. He sighed and shook Azami awake. He helped him get up and they headed back to the front room where he resumed his seat on the sofa. Adel was walking out when he glanced back to see a man in a suit yanking Azami to his feet. He looked after Adel and then stumbled after the other man. Haru had grabbed his arm and pulled him out.

"Well?" Haru asked.

Adel shook his head and then frowned at the three of them. "You realize this is Yakuza run?"

"Shush, don't say that so loud!" Kouta said and waved at him. Haru and Hiroshi both rolled their eyes.

"They're prisoners."

"Don't be silly, of course they aren't. The one I had was a lovely conversationalist. He was quite chatty."

"Mine wasn't," Adel said with a deep frown. "He'd had his vocal chords removed."

The three of them glanced at each other and back at Adel. "Oh you lucky bastard, you got a Voiceless Kagema!"

Adel shook his head. "What the hell is that?"

"See, there are those male whores that were in there, then there are the Kyoto Voiceless Kagema. They've sacrificed their voices as a sign of allegiance to the...them. They serve as personal Kagema to the highest ranking people in the organization."

"He wasn't there by choice," Adel pointed out. "He didn't choose this."

Haru shrugged. "Nothing to be done, they own half of Japan, Adel-kun. I've heard they snatch young people and sometimes train them intensely to be the best whores in the whole country. Voiceless are special because they can't speak about what they see or hear, so they even serve the big brothers, the father, all of them."

Adel sighed and stared for a long time at them before he shook his head as they caught the bus back to their various homes. He looked at the tablet and scrolled back through the history. He always kept the history, just in case he ever needed it or needed to remember something he had talked about with someone. He had a habit of repeating after others when they told him things, just so he could put them in the speech program.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 24 (Monday) – 3:00 pm

Renji, Chad, Adel – Adel's Apartment

Vanessa hadn't contacted them yet, and Renji and Chad were getting worried. There wasn't a lot they could do. They'd spent the time since they'd met with the INTERPOL woman doing research from Adel's home and getting to know the general layout of the area. Renji was laying out on the floor beside the futon that Chad was sitting on. He was covering his eyes with his arm.

"How long has it been?" Renji asked without moving his arm off his face.

"Over three weeks," Chad said with a look to the door as Adel came in with coffee again.

"I have a little information," the voice program announced.

Renji sat up and looked at him. "What is it?"

"Well, from my parents, they put me in contact with some of the major anti-Yakuza groups in the area. And I found out that the reason that the Kyoto Kagema house is so hard to find is because it burned down a couple months ago," he said with a sigh.

"Burned down?" Chad asked as he whitened his coffee while Renji dumped a bunch of sugar in his.

"Yes, but the interesting thing is that six of the workers were found dead there. And that means that this Kukoa was short staffed. Then I went along with my friends this weekend to a Kagema house. I think it might be the one you are looking for, but I'm not sure," Adel's tablet said.

Chad and Renji exchanged a look. "You did? Where is it? Did you see Ichigo?" Renji asked franticly.

"I do not know, you never showed your friend to me," he said as he picked up his coffee.

Renji fumbled into his pocket and handed him the crumpled photo. Adel took it then put down the cup he was holding. He looked up at both of them and then shook his head.

"Ah, yes, yes, he was the one I took," he said.

"Took?" Renji asked with a look that was at the same time dangerous and pained.

"I often visit with escorts and sex workers, and my friends, the ones that did not believe I was asexual, purchased a Kagema at this place, and I picked out the one that was the most interesting, to talk to. I've done the same at many places, as I find sometimes the people that know the most about things are escorts…but he…he couldn't talk. He used my tablet," Adel said as he scrolled through the photos. He turned the tablet around and showed them the picture he'd taken of Azami when he was falling asleep.

Renji grabbed the tablet and stared at it. "Oh kami…" he whispered as he looked at it for a long moment. "What…what happened to him…"

Adel motioned to have him hand the tablet back, showing Chad the picture first. "His name was Azami, and here, this is what he said," he said and scrolled back to have the speech program read the conversation they had out loud.

Chad and Renji sat silently for a long time. "We're going to get him," Renji said, slamming his hand into the badge and stepping out of Gigai.

"Yes. Can you take us there?" Chad said as he stood up.

Adel nodded. "Of course, come on. I don't know how close…"

"I'll get very close, they won't see me," Renji said, pulling Zabimaru and calling the shikai. "They won't see me at all."

Chad and Adel headed walked while Renji took to the sky. They found their way to the large building. The Fujimoto 87 had recently been bought by new owners. Now, Adel thought he knew why. Yakuza had bought it. Adel led Chad into the building with Renji following, his massive sword on his shoulder. He was fascinated by these Shinigami now. He approached the listing of the building's occupants. From the 80th floor up to the 87th, the floors were marked private. The other floors were various businesses, financial services, pharmaceutical company, a retail executive office, and some real estate offices.

"They're on the top floors," Adel tapped out. "We went up to the top floor and Kouta put in a code to get into it. I don't know the code though."

Renji snarled. "I don't need a code," he muttered as they got into the elevator.

The elevator stopped at the 87th and they saw the door that opened into the floor in the entry. Chad nodded to Renji as he stepped through the wall into the next room. It only took a few minutes before Renji came hurtling through the doorway as it opened. He rolled and slammed into the wall behind them. Chad turned and saw Renji collecting himself.

"I don't…what is that?" he gasped as a gout of fire shot out of the doorway.

Adel and Chad both dodged as a fine cut appeared across Chad's face. He reached up and put his hand on the blood dripping.

"Fullbringers," Adel tapped into the tablet, feeling the familiar pressures around him.

"How dare a Shinigami try to get into my place of business," a voice said and they looked to see a man with dark hair and flames flickering around his body. Beside him a man with a white doctor's coat stood with a metallic glint to his eyes.

"Who are you?" Chad said as his arm changed.

"Well, a Fullbringer, like you. Why are you running with such a…thing, as this Shinigami?" the flames dancing around him reached out and pulled back. "Kukoa, at your service," he said and bowed without taking his eyes off Chad.

"You took our friend," Renji growled and tried to lunge at him.

The doctor beside him flicked his wrist and Renji blinked as a slice cut open his Kusodo and left a deep gash in his chest. He gasped and put his hand to his chest as he dropped to his knees. Kukoa smiled at him.

"I don't think Kagawa likes your attitude," Kukoa said. "I don't care who you believe I have, but you will leave. Unless, of course, you'll join my ranks, but I don't think by the look of you that will happen."

Chad watched as the one named Kagawa flicked his hand again, but he blocked it with his transformed arm easily. It pushed him backward into the wall behind him, though.

"Give Ichigo back to us," Chad said as he put his arm down.

Kukoa smiled. "Ah, so you're after my Azami," he said and looked at Kagawa. "I see. So I was right, wasn't I?"

"It would seem so, he's got the ability as well," Kagawa said with a smirk. "I felt it when I cut out his vocal chords, trying to emerge then. But it couldn't for some reason."

Renji growled and tried to jump forward. Adel held him back, though, knowing that there were more. Chad looked back. "How many of you are there?" Chad said finally.

"Oh, come now, if this hothead with you concentrated, he should be able to tell," Kukoa said with a smirk.

"Five," Renji growled at him. "I already knew that. There are three more in there. No one else has the reiatsu of you. You feel like Chad and Adel."

"Yes, so five of us, and three of you. And obviously, not well trained yet, huh, big boy?" Kukoa said with a smirk.

"You will give us Ichigo back," Chad said.

"Ichigo is gone, I'm afraid. Azami, though, has made quite a good Kagema. I've taught him everything he needs to know and then some. He'll be taking my place one day, after I've taken his Fullbring. Now that you've confirmed it, I'll let him release it, then I'll steal it, and he'll be even more my puppet. He's got the ability, the fighting ability that is, to hold his own." Kukoa smiled. "You'll be proud of him, though. I have to keep him drugged a bit to make sure he doesn't get out. Poor dear already blinded himself in one eye trying to get out. Can't have that."

Renji stumbled to stand. "We won't let you do this."

"Try and stop me," Kukoa said and before he released a massive gout of flame at them, Adel yanked Chad and Renji with him into the elevator.

"Come on, we can't take them like this," Adel's tablet said as he helped Renji to his feet. "Let's get back to the apartment and see if we can't figure out what to do."

They stumbled into the apartment some time later, Renji collapsing inside the door panting.

"Took you long enough," a female voice said from the living room.

Chad looked up to see Vanessa standing by the futon and looking out the windows. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I felt the release of power." She turned back and they realized her left eye was glowing green. "I figured you were another Fullbringer when you visited me. Then I felt the rise in power, and I figured out that it was more than Yakuza."

"Is everyone in this place some sort of spiritual powerhouse?" Renji asked with a sigh as he leaned against the wall.

Vanessa moved toward him and put her hands on Renji's chest. They glowed green for a few moments and the wound sealed. "I'm a healer, so not much good in a fight, well, except that I can see through other's eyes, and if I have enough time, I can render a Fullbringer's power inert for a short time," she said with a smile. "I have a prosthetic eye, that's where I focus my power from."

Adel sighed and tapped. "So it would seem things got a lot more complicated."


	6. Remembering and Rebuilding

Chapter Six

Remembering and Rebuilding

Day 25 (Tuesday) – 10:30 am

Renji, Chad, Adel – Adel's Apartment

"You're sure?" Urahara said over the phone. "Absolutely sure?"

"Look, I'm sure, Chad's sure, we're all sure, now get someone here to help me with these people!" Renji practically shouted into the phone.

"I'll check into things," Urahara said and the line went dead.

Renji frowned. "What the hell is wrong with him?"

Chad looked at Adel and back at Renji. "That seems strange for him to react that way. It was almost like he didn't believe us…"

The phone rang again after a few hours. Chad answered and put the speaker on so Renji and Adel could listen to it.

"This is Chad," he said.

"Chad, no worries. I've checked into things, nothing to worry about. You two should come home," came the jovial shopkeeper's voice.

Chad looked at Renji. "Checked into things? Did you talk to Ichigo's father?"

"Oh yes, things are fine, just fine, no worries, no worries," he said smoothly.

"But he's being held against his will and forced to serve as a Kagema, this isn't fine, Urahara-san," Chad said slowly.

"All fine, no worries, no worries, tell Renji to go back to see Rukia, and you come home too. No worries at all, Chad," he said and Chad clicked off the call.

"Something's not right," Chad said and looked at Renji.

Renji nodded. "He kept repeating the same things."

Adel nodded and texted Vanessa that she needed to come to his apartment as soon as she could. "I told Vanessa," the computer voice announced and he went to the kitchen to make coffee.

Renji leaned toward Chad on the futon when they sat down. "Doesn't he drink tea? This stuff is bitter…" he muttered to him.

Chad smiled and shook his head. "I suppose not," he said with a smirk as Adel sat down the tray and Renji snatched a cup. He dumped a lot of sugar and this time tried the creamer like Chad used.

Adel got up and left the room for a moment again. Renji looked at Chad. "What are we going to do if we can't get the ones in Karakura to help us?"

Chad shook his head. "We can't go alone. It is just too dangerous. Ichigo is at great risk where he is right now. He's been hurt and there is no guarantee that he won't be hurt more. He needs to be rescued quickly. We've wasted too much time as it is."

Renji nodded. "We had no way to find him faster, and if it wasn't for Adel's visit with him…"

Chad nodded. "I do not trust this Vanessa."

"I don't either. She seems to know too much too quickly. Is this INTERPOL something major here?" Renji asked as he fiddled with Ichigo's badge.

Chad looked at him. "They are a police organization that does what she said they do. She did not lie about that, but I am unsure what I believe about her."

"I'll dispatch a Hell Butterfly. I don't want to go through right now, I am not leaving in case something else goes wrong and I can't get back," Renji said as he stood up and pressed the badge and stepped out of his Gigai. "Give me a minute."

Renji went through the window and Chad watched him go. About fifteen minutes passed and Chad looked up as he came back in. Chad looked up. "What did you send?"

"I sent it to Rukia. She was already trying to help by watching for anyone that brought him across. If anyone can help us, it's her. I told her not to go to Karakura Town, though. I kept it short, told her that Ichigo needs her, that I need her, and that was all. I just hope that Kuchiki-taichou lets her come across."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 25 (Tuesday)

Rukia – Soul Society, Division 13

Rukia frowned as she let the Hell Butterfly leave and ran to Ukitake-taichou's office. She pounded on it furiously.

"Come in," came her captain's soft voice.

Rukia opened the door and bowed. "Ukitake-taichou, I request immediate leave to go to the World of the Living immediately."

Ukitake looked up from his desk and frowned. "What is it that you need to leave for?"

Rukia stood up and sighed. "I received a Hell Butterfly from Renji in the World of the Living. He said something was wrong with those in Karakura Town, and that Ichigo needed me. He didn't say anything else."

Ukitake shook his head. "How long did Kuchiki-taichou allow him leave?"

Rukia shook her head. "Until he was needed. Things have been quiet so no one has really needed him to come back. Nii-sama is more than capable of handling the sixth on his own. I just…I've been monitoring the Rukongai for nearly a month at Renji's request. I had an ill feeling when he disappeared, Taichou, and I think that I should have stayed with him."

Ukitake was quiet for a long moment. "Rukia, I know you feel that you should have helped Renji, but Renji has been gone near a month chasing ghosts. Whatever has happened, your help is most useful now, rather than before. What could be the reason that something is wrong in Karakura Town?" he asked thoughtfully. "I worry on that. I think I should send someone through and you go through to help Renji. Come back or send me a Hell Butterfly if you need help. I suggest gaining approval from the Sou-Taichou though before you go. Renji was given his permission as well."

Rukia nodded. "I will go see him right away, Taichou," she said and headed to the first division.

Ukitake frowned and headed over to see Kyōraku. He knocked on the doorway and heard the muffled response. He opened the door and saw Kyōraku lying on the futon with his arm over his face.

"You are avoiding work, as usual," he said as he came in.

"Jūshirō!" Kyōraku said and jumped up to grab him in a hug. Ukitake gasped and tried to keep his feet.

"Shunsui! Stop that!" he muttered. "We might be seen!"

"I don't care, Jūshirō!" he said as he nuzzled into Jūshirō's white locks. "I've missed you, my lovely Jūshirō."

"Shush!" he said, face reddening, as he pushed him back. "I came here about Ichigo!"

Kyōraku stepped back and put his hands on his hips. "Is he still missing?"

"Rukia got a Hell Butterfly from Renji saying he needed help. Do you think that we should push forward on the project with Mayuri?" Jūshirō said with a sigh.

Kyōraku nodded. "What else did it say?"

"Something is wrong in Karakura Town. I can't imagine them to ignore Renji's request for help. I know that they believed he had left of his own free will, but Renji was adamant he wouldn't," Jūshirō said and yelped as Kyōraku grabbed him by the hips and fell back into the futon. He glared at him as he landed on his lap. "I told you to stop it, we'll be seen…" Jūshirō muttered as Kyōraku leaned in and nipped at his throat.

"It isn't like my fuku-taichou or yours hasn't caught us before," he muttered against his throat.

"But if the Sou-taichou…" Ukitake said as he breathed out harshly as Kyōraku's hand slid between his legs.

"I'll tell him you are mine, and always have been," he muttered.

Ukitake sighed. "Later, we need to figure out what is happening in Karakura. We still have to worry about the oaken."

"All work and no play," Kyōraku said and pushed him off his lap to sit beside him. "Alright, who should we dispatch?"

"We should see the Sou-taichou," he said as he stood and headed out with Kyōraku behind him. They got to the head captain's office to see a very annoyed looking Rukia coming out. Ukitake sighed.

They went in to see the head captain sitting at his desk. "Yes?"

"Sou-Taichou, I assume Rukia already saw you?" Ukitake said with a sigh.

"She informed me. I dismissed her to return to the thirteenth until a Captain's meeting is convened. Send the notice one will be convened in one hour's time," the Sou-Taichou said without looking up from his work.

"Of course," Ukitake said with a bow.

They walked out and Kyōraku slipped his arm under Ukitake's Haori and around his waist. "We have an hour," he muttered into the other man's ear.

Ukitake sighed as he was drug down the hall to one of the empty rooms.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 25 (Tuesday) – 2:00 pm

Renji, Chad, Adel – Adel's Apartment, Kyoto

They sat in silence for a while until the bell rang. Adel got up and answered it and let the tall Vanessa in.

"So, what now?" she said as she sat down on the adjacent futon.

"We called our friends in Karakura Town and they acted very strange," Chad said. "I thought we could get their help, but they acted as though there was nothing wrong. He kept repeating everything is 'fine' and 'no worries' which I've never heard Urahara use."

Vanessa nodded. "I was afraid of that. I did some digging of my own," she said and pulled a file out of her bag. She put it down on the table.

"This is who I suspect is inside that building," she said and pushed it over.

Chad flipped it open to the first one. "Kukoa, AKA Aki Seo," Chad read and put down a photo of the man they had seen. "He's a rather high ranking Yakuza member. And this is Dr. Hitomi Kagawa," he said as he pulled out a picture of the man they had seen before. "Hinata Morgan," he said as he laid out a picture of a blonde woman. "Randal Mansford," he said as he placed a picture of a man with light brown hair and dark eyes down. "And Jirou Hando," he said as he put down the last one. This one was a man with his hair dyed dark blue and deep set eyes.

Vanessa pointed to Kukoa. "This is the official file, but what I looked into is his Fullbring. His is called Roaring Fire. His focus is that lighter he always carries. There are a few people that believe when he realized his power, he burned down his house, killing his family in the process. Since then, he's been somewhat unstable with use of his power. Hence the burning of the last Kagema house he was at."

"So, that puts everyone in that building at risk, from him, doesn't it?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, he's got the temper to match his powers. Now this one, the doctor you saw, is Hitomi Kagawa. He was a ENT in one of the Kyoto's best hospitals until a couple years ago when he somehow managed to cut a patient's throat in the middle of a surgery to remove adenoids. He was fired in short order. I think he realized his power then. As you saw, his power is cutting in how it looks. His focus is that scalpel. He doesn't actually cut anything with the implement, it is only a focus for his powers. He is dangerous and unpredictable, and from what we can figure out, he may be able to cut through steel and brick if he is given enough preparation," she said as she pushed that one away.

"We?" Adel's tablet stated.

Vanessa smiled at him. "As you know, I'm sure, not all of us are good people. So inside INTERPOL we have a small group of Fullbringers that keep an eye on others like us. As a side mission to the primary mission of INTERPOL, we intercede and deal with rogue Fullbringers. Obviously, there is nothing official on the books, but those that need to know do know, and we have people worldwide now. I'm trying to get some to come here if they're available. We tend to remain spread out for safety."

Renji nodded. "Makes sense, but how does this connect to the fact that no one seems to believe us and Urahara's strange behavior?"

"Just let me tell you this and you'll understand," she said and push the picture of the woman forward. "This is Hinata Morgan. She was a nursing student on a psychiatric floor in Tokyo. She had this strange way of being the last person seen by someone before they committed suicide or went off the handle in a psychotic episode. Of course no one could prove anything. We've speculated that her power, which she's called Whispers of Madness, somehow pushes someone into an episode of their current mental health deficits. We don't know if it will work on people not already mentally ill." She flicked out the fourth one. "This man is Randal Mansford, a man originally from Wales. He is dangerous in the extreme. His Fullbring is called Ground Break, and he channels his power through that necklace he wears. Some sort of stone that glows when he's using his power like my eye does. He can cause earthquakes and can manipulate natural materials. However, the one I think is currently the reason for your inability to get aid from your friends is this man," she turned the photo of the one with dark blue hair around.

"Jirou Hando was a prodigy in the field of neuroscience. He was especially good at neurolinguistics programming and the theories of suggestion and persuasion. He was about to graduate when there was an incident where five people suddenly committed suicide and no one who had witnessed it could remember anything about it or even seeing them die. He's nearly been captured twice, but his Fullbring, Mental Switch, seems to be able to force even the strongest of our Fullbringers to give up the chase and walk away. We've yet to find anyone resistant to his power," she said with a sigh.

"And it obviously works on Shinigami," Renji said with a frown. "Since Urahara was affected, and Kurosaki-san won't answer our calls. How would he have gotten to them already?"

"You forget how long your friend has been in Kukoa's hands. Once he figured out how hard it was going to be to keep people from asking questions, he no doubt dispatched Hando to deal with it. I'm sure you experienced the police and their apathy. That comes from being paid off by Yakuza. The complete belief that nothing is wrong? That comes from Hando's power," she said with a sigh.

"How long does it last?" Chad asked.

"One to three weeks, assuming he doesn't go back and renew the suggestions. I'm thinking that we can't do this alone, so while I'm trying to get a couple in the organization here, we could use your friends. So we need to take down the other Fullbringers that he has working for him. We can't take them on all together, even knowing what their power is. We have to take out some of the ones that can use their power against us and those that we could use to help us. So we have to find Hando first. Once we eliminate him from our list, we work on another, probably Mansford. From what I hear, Morgan serves on site as a nurse, and you saw that the Kagawa stays with Kukoa," she placed the photos in the order they should take down the others.

Renji nodded. "How are we going to deal with this Hando?"

"His powers are strong, but they exhaust him from what I can tell. From everything I gathered, his powers are centered around his own mental state. So if you can frustrate him, the more likely it is to trip him up," she said with a sigh. "The problem is going to be getting to him. I have no idea how to track him."

Adel thought for a long moment then tapped furiously into the tablet. "What if we could lure him to a location we know he can't resist and ambush him?"

Renji shook his head and nearly jumped when someone thumped onto the floor at the window. He looked up and smiled. "Rukia!" he exclaimed and got up and ran to her. He picked her up and squeezed her.

"Put me down, Renji!" she squeaked. "What is happening?"

"Adel, Vanessa," Renji said pointing to each of them. "This is Rukia, she's good friends with Ichigo," he said and looked back. "It hasn't been that long since I sent the butterfly. You snuck out through the Kuchiki Senkaimon didn't you?"

Rukia rolled her violet eyes. "I may have…I didn't feel like waiting for the head captain to take forever to decide to do something. I'm certain he'll dispatch someone to Karakura Town since there's the Oaken there still. Now, what's happening?" she asked.

Vanessa looked up at her. "Your friend is in a great deal of danger," she said with a sigh.

Rukia narrowed her eyes at her and then looked to Adel. "Who are they? They have reiatsu but it's like Chad's…wait…we never figured out what his power was…"

"We're Fullbringers," Vanessa said. "Children of those attacked by hollows that inherited a piece of that hollow power. We all have a Fullbring, or a power that we can manifest. Mine is in healing arts, Adel is able to silence the areas around him. The people who have your friend are also Fullbringers."

Rukia nodded. "So what happened? Where is he?"

Renji's face fell and he motioned to Adel. "Show her," he said as he stepped away from her.

Adel came forward and tapped into the tablet. "Ms. Rukia, I am glad to meet you. I visited a Kagema House, and I encountered your friend, I took a picture, as I collect pictures of the beautiful people I come across, and I kept the conversation he and I had in here. I have no voice, and now, neither does he," he said as he turned the tablet around so she could see the picture. She put a hand to her mouth and gasped. Adel tapped the playback of the conversation. By the time it was done she was crying steadily.

"I should…I shouldn't have just went back, I should have believed when Renji said he wouldn't run away…so…how long?" she said and looked at him.

"Over three weeks," Chad said from where he stared at the floor between his feet. "We foolishly went to get him from the place, only to find ourselves up against those with powers. So now they know we have their location. Now they are aware of what we are and will be ready. We will be lucky if we get to him before they kill him," he said with a sigh. "It was rash to go to the place. We should have waited."

"We didn't know they could see me!" Renji growled as he sat down beside Chad with a huff. "I didn't think they were anything but these human gangsters, and neither did you."

"Gangsters?" Rukia said as she sat down beside Renji and put her arm around him.

"Yakuza," Vanessa said. "I work for INTERPOL, an international police agency. We try to catch organized criminals that work across countries, and the Yakuza have been suspected of doing so for some time now."

"And in Karakura Town?" she asked.

Renji sighed and began to explain what had happened when they had called Urahara and how they believed it was the fault of a Fullbringer.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 26 (Wednesday) – 9:00 am

Kukoa – Kagema House, Kukoa's office

"How has he been doing?" Kukoa asked one of his guards.

"He has been dealing well with most the clients. A couple have complained that he does not seem interested in what he's doing," the guard said.

Kukoa nodded. "Keep him on the floor for another week. He should have his skills honed by then. Inform him the next time one of the clients complains that I will punish him again. Remind him that I will always punish him if he does not please his clients."

The guard bowed and left. "You're sure that everything is taken care of in that disgusting town?" Kukoa asked as he turned around.

A man who had been in the shadows stepped out, his deep blue hair reflecting some of the light. "Hai, Kukoa-sama. There are at least three weeks before his father and those that were contacted by the Shinigami regain their own thoughts about him. It was exhausting, I am afraid there were more challenges than I expected with these people. Few of them were humans."

Kukoa nodded. "Very good. See if you can find those three that tried to get in to get him out. Bring them to me. I believe I will torture their friend in front of them, then kill them."

"Kukoa-sama, I don't mean to question you, but should we not move him if we know there are others like us trying to find him?" Hando asked softly.

Kukoa glared at him and snapped his hand, a whip like lick of flame snapping the other man across the cheek. "Don't question me. We stay here. We're 87 floors up. Once I complete the security features, no one will come into this entire building without me knowing it. I've already requested reinforcements from our superiors. In three weeks, we have a very important guest, the one that I'm grooming Azami to service."

"Understood sir, oh, one more thing, Nakimushi…" Hando said with a frown.

Kukoa smirked. "Ah, is he still trying to get hold of Azami again?"

"Yes, it seems he's quite enamored of him," Hando said with a smirk. "But, he has been trying to get him alone, but with the clients lately…"

"Make sure Nakimushi can get to him tonight. Send them both to the kitchen, and make sure to have Azami's food dosed before he gets it. I should feed this little possessive brat for a little longer, then when Azami snaps, he'll kill him," Kukoa said with a smile.

He remembered all too well when he snapped, unfortunately, he'd also burned the building he was in along with his rapist. Ah, well, perhaps it would pull Azami's Fullbring out. He was confused by what he sensed from the boy. Power, but something else. He'd have it whatever it was, and then, when Azami serviced that "special" client, he would be able to finally reach the end of his plans. He smiled to himself. Such a long game for one piece of revenge…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 26 (Wednesday) – 11:00 pm

Ichigo – Kagema House

Ichigo was confused as he followed the guard that had come to get him from the main room. He'd never been this way and was surprised when the smell of cooking food caught his attention. The guard opened the door and Ichigo realized it was a small kitchen and dining area. There was a large table in the middle and a kitchen with a serving area on the side.

"Sit down, I'll get your food," the guard said and Ichigo did as instructed. He honestly couldn't imagine doing otherwise now.

Ichigo flinched when someone put arms around him. He looked to see Nakimushi had sat down beside him. Ichigo tried to smile at him as Nakimushi gave him a leering look. He didn't like the way he stared at him still. He hadn't seen him since they had had the client together. Somehow, Ichigo had hoped he wouldn't see him again. They looked up as one of the other Kagema sat down on the other side. Ichigo thought that his name was Daichi.

"Hey!" he said as he sat down with his food. "Haven't seen you two come down here before," he said as the guard that had brought Ichigo down sat a plate of sushi and miso soup down in front of him. He nodded to him and saw another one placed a similar plate and bowl down before Nakimushi.

Ichigo shrugged at Daichi. Daichi smiled, his light brown eyes vivid. "I can't imagine getting the good clients like you will," he said with a sigh. "And the special training!"

Ichigo winced at that and looked away. "What's wrong? I mean, you all get to learn like special skills and all that body language stuff and the eye stuff."

Nakimushi put his hand on Ichigo's leg and he jerked away, glaring at him. Nakimushi smiled back at him. Ichigo looked away and started eating to ignore him. Daichi ate quietly for a long time until he looked up and smiled at Ichigo.

"I've been here for like three years, and Azami, you have got to be one of prettiest Kagema to come in here," he said and reached across to pat his hand.

When he did, Nakimushi slapped his hand away with his brows furrowed deeply. He shook his head at him. Ichigo turned to look at Nakimushi and shook his head at him. Nakimushi reached up and grabbed Ichigo's hand and yanked it to his chest. Ichigo frowned and yanked his hand back out of Nakimushi's grip. He stood up and started to leave the room.

"Why are you being like that to him?" Ichigo heard Daichi say behind him, then he almost stumbled into the wall.

He felt someone grab him and he looked over to realize it was Nakimushi. He shook his head and tried to push him away but Ichigo's head was buzzing madly. He had gotten used to the low levels of sedatives that he was given but this felt like more than usual. He felt someone pull him from the other side and looked up to see Daichi was holding his other arm.

"Nakimushi, he obviously doesn't want you to help him, come on, let him get to his bed," he said with a frown at the smaller Kagema.

Nakimushi snarled at him soundlessly and then pulled Ichigo hard toward him and he fell to his knees.

"Now, boys, don't fight," Ichigo heard a voice behind him and someone was helping him to his feet. "Let's get you all to sleep so you're fresh for a hard day tomorrow."

Ichigo was trying to focus, but one eye was hard to get used to. He felt something soft under him and he sighed. At least he was in…Nakimushi's room. He sat up and stared at him. The shorter boy was grinning at him as he came forward. Ichigo shook his head and tried to stand, but fell back onto the bed. He'd hook the clips on his ankle cuffs together.

Nakimushi smirked as he ran his hands up Ichigo's hips. Ichigo tried to push him off but he found his wrists clipped together in short order and he just couldn't fight it. He felt tears running down his cheeks as Nakimushi did whatever he wanted. He was so weak. He was too weak to live…but he was too weak to die.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 27 (Thursday) – 11:00 am

Shinigami Team – Karakura Town

"I don't understand what this is about," Yumichika said as they stepped out into Karakura Town.

"We're supposed to check in on Urahara and the others," Toshiro said as he headed toward the shoten. "We got a Hell Butterfly about something being wrong here."

Ikkaku shrugged and followed the short captain. "Taichou! Can I do some shopping if I get my Gigai from Urahara-san?" Matsumoto said as she looked around.

"No!" Toshiro said as they found their way into the shoten where Urahara was sitting behind the counter.

"Yare, yare, such a surprise visit!" Urahara said. "What can I do for you today?"

"We were told there was something strange going on here with everyone in Karakura Town. What is it?" Toshiro said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Urahara looked at him and smiled. "No worries, no worries at all, everything is fine, just fine," he said and then just stared for a moment before he blinked and looked at them. "What did you need again?"

Toshiro nodded at him. "Um, we're going to see Isshin-san," he said.

"Oh good, he's at the clinic! But I'm afraid Chad and Renji aren't back yet. They'll be coming home soon," Urahara said with that odd look again.

Toshiro nodded. "That was weird," he muttered as they made their way to Kurosaki Clinic.

"Toshiro!" Isshin said with a grin. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"Something's off with Urahara, and there was word about your son," Toshiro said as he glanced back at Matsumoto and the others.

"Oh, that, no worries, no worries, everything is fine, just fine!" Isshin said and turned back inside.

Toshiro frowned and turned to the others. "Yumichika, check in with Orihime, Ikkaku, go find Uryū, Matsumoto, check on the Kurosaki girls. I'm going to call in."

An hour later they had found everyone that was involved in Ichigo's life, everyone in Karakura that might want to try and help him, said the same things. Toshiro came back to the shoten and looked at them.

"I've gotten a report from the Sou-Taichou. There's apparently another power at play. Fullbringers, they are apparently people possessed of some hollow ability by way of their parents having been attacked. Mayuri is working on a way to deprogram them, but it is no guarantee. He's also working on the plan we have been discussing for a long time." Toshiro looked around as he felt reiatsu coming toward him.

Shinji and Hiyori dropped down to the ground beside them. "So, having fun without us?" he asked with a smirk.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be running a division in Soul Society?" Toshiro asked with a sigh. Shinji had taken one of his "leaves" a few weeks ago.

"Well, I heard about this odd thing you have happening, and the strange things that certain people who have interest in one ex substitute Shinigami are saying," he said with a hand on his hip.

Toshiro sighed. "Come on, I'll explain what I know," he said and took them into the back of Urahara's shop.

Shinji looked at Hiyori. "Go get the others, I'm heading to Kyoto," he said as he turned to leave.

"Wait, the Sou-taichou hasn't…" Toshiro started.

Shinji turned and looked at him. "You're really going to stop me? You're going to keep me from finding out what the hells made Renji and Rukia disappear without a word to anyone?"

Toshiro sighed and nodded. "I'll inform the head captain."

Shinji nodded and took off in a Shunpo, and Hiyori took off back the other way. Toshiro watched them go and hoped that Mayuri could figure out how to get these to the point they could talk without going into the strange litany of words.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 27 (Thursday) – 1:00 pm

Renji, Chad, Adel, Rukia – Adel's Apartment

"Why is this taking so long?" Renji grumbled as he paced the floor again.

Rukia stepped down from the window and looked at him. "I've tried to talk to the local Shinigami, all he can say is 'no worries' and 'everything's fine' when I bring up anything about the Yakuza or Ichigo. I think that tall woman's right, they're programmed or something."

Chad came in and sat down again. "If we barge into that place, people will get hurt. And if we're not careful, Ichigo will end up dead or they'll take him somewhere else."

Renji growled. "I want to go in there now, but if I do…"

Rukia put a hand on his arm. "Hey, we're doing what we can. So are you. Going without a plan will fail. I'm going back to watch the building and make sure no one does leave with him, okay?"

Renji nodded. "Alright," he said and looked away from her.

Rukia grabbed his arm. "We'll get him back," she said softly.

"But what is going to be left of him when we do?" he said without looking at her.

She squeezed his arm and took off again. She couldn't help Renji with this, just like she couldn't help him when he came to her and told him how he felt. She tried to tell him to go to Ichigo, to talk to him about it, but he'd refused. He said he couldn't do it, he couldn't interrupt his life on the World of the Living. She paused and looked back at him. He was frantic to find him. She sighed and headed out. She wouldn't let Renji lose this.

Renji watched her leave and paced again. He didn't notice the presence until he heard a voice. "Aren't you a lazy bunch?"

Chad stood up and Renji turned to look. "Shinji," Chad said and nodded to him. "What has been found in Karakura?"

After about half an hour of discussion of the things that both those in Karakura had found out, and the things that those in Kyoto had put together, Shinji sat down and sighed.

"Dammit," he muttered. "Why didn't you find me? I would have come with you."

Renji looked at him. "I didn't…I mean when the others shut us down, I didn't think you'd want to help."

"I know, I should have kept tabs on him better," he said with a sigh. "He was my responsibility at one time, and I didn't think about how it could be a problem so much with him powerless."

"We still have the problem of how to get into this place," Adel's computer voice said. "We cannot just run into it. They will have prepared for us, or they will have moved him."

"I doubt that they would move him, and we've kept watch on the building since we tried to go in the first time," Renji said with a sigh. "There has to be a reason they're keeping him there. He said something about stealing his Fullbring."

Adel nodded. "It is possible to give up a Fullbring or to steal another person's in certain circumstances. If you friend, if he has the ability…"

"He's the son of a Shinigami, though," Shinji said. "That always made him different from the rest of us. So would that make his power different?"

Adel thought. "It might make him more powerful than most of us, and if Kukoa steals his Fullbring…"

"It could be very bad," Renji said as he rubbed his fingers across the badge's surface.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 29 (Saturday) – 3:00 pm

Toshiro and Team – Karakura Town

"You think this will work?" Toshiro asked as he stared at the syringe of strange colored liquid. It was somewhere between yellow and brown. It had specks of purple.

"I think, but you should stick Urahara first, just in case it doesn't," Kurotsuchi said with a flippant sound to his voice.

Toshiro sighed and took the bag with the syringes that Kurotsuchi had put together for them. He walked up to Urahara and looked at him.

"Urahara-san," he said. "Here, you need this," he said and stuck the syringe in the unsuspecting man's arm.

"What was…" he started and his eyes glowed bright blue for a moment before he blinked for a few minutes. "What, wait…Renji said they found Ichigo…" he said and looked at Toshiro.

Toshiro smiled. "Go dose the others," he said and handed Matsumoto the bag.

"I don't understand, what happened, there was this young man with blue hair, and he said…he said that everything was fine…that I had no worries anymore…" Urahara said. "That was something I've never experienced before, almost like Sōsuke's perfect hypnosis…"

Toshiro explained everything and by the time he finished, Uryū and Orihime were there in a frantic need for an explanation. Isshin wasn't far behind. Toshiro finally got everyone to sit down and listen.

"Alright, so I'm not wanting to do this again. Here's what has happened. Ichigo is in Kyoto, he is alive, but a lot has happened," Toshiro said with a sigh. "Renji, Chad, Rukia, and Renji are there already. But you all were put under some sort of hypnotic trance by a man who possesses some powers of a hollow, called a Fullbringer."

"Is he okay?" Orihime asked with tearing eyes.

Toshiro sighed. "No, not really. He was abducted by a Yakuza team in Karakura Town the night he disappeared."

"What?" Isshin said. "I had police and everyone trying to find him, they said…"

"They were paid off," Urahara said from beside him. "I've gotten most the information from Mayuri in Soul Society, and I contacted Renji a little while ago. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a convenient target. The team that was here was moving a drug shipment stored in that warehouse. They always have a lure with them, from what I could find out from my contacts. If they run across any promising young people, they grab them for their human trafficking rings."

"Human trafficking?" Uryū asked with a horrified look.

Urahara nodded. "He's been taken by a man named Kukoa who runs an exclusive Kagema House in Kyoto. Apparently, now that he knows that Ichigo is capable of a Fullbring, he intends to get him to activate his and steal the power from him. He himself is a Fullbringer, and Renji says that there are four others there with formidable power, including the one that is capable of altering memories and using suggestions."

"Kagema House?" Isshin said. "Is he…"

"He's not there as a guard, Isshin. He's been there for over three weeks now. We don't know much except that he's lost the use of one of his eyes in trying to escape. Other than that, we're not really sure what has happened."

"Leave it to him to keep fighting even when it's the Yakuza," Uryū said with a sigh.

"What…what does that mean? A Kagema House? What's that?" Orihime asked with a blank look.

Urahara swallowed and glanced at Isshin and back to her. "Kagema were young men who during older times were male sex workers," he said with a sigh. "Yakuza have a lot of very old ways, and one of them is preferring brothels with males so that illegitimate children aren't a problem for them."

"There's one more thing, though," Toshiro said. "Apparently, the place he's at services the highest ranking members of the Yakuza. Because of this they have special group of young men who they called Voiceless," he said and glanced around them. "He's one of them."

"What does that mean?" Isshin said.

Urahara sighed. "They've taken his ability to speak, by removing his vocal chords."

Orihime nodded. "I…I could reject it, right? I can fix it? Like I did that Arrancar's arm?"

"I hope so," Urahara said. "I worry that this Fullbringer used his power to do it, though, and we aren't sure how it works."

Uryū stood up and looked at Orihime. "I'm going to the train. Are you coming with me?" he asked her.

Orihime stood up. "Yes, I'm going. I'm going to help Kurosaki-kun. He helped me when I needed it, and I will help him."

Uryū nodded and they headed out the door in a rush. He knew he could get a ticket immediately, and he intended to be Kyoto by the end of the day.


	7. Plans Change

Chapter Seven

Plans Change

Day 30 (Sunday) – 4:00 am

Uryū, Orihime – Train Station

"Was he going to pick us up?" Orihime asked nervously, not seeing anyone except the people that had just gotten off the train with them.

"He said he was, wait, is that Chad?" he said as he saw a head of brown hair over the heads of the other people around them.

Neither of them noticed when a black cat slipped between them and disappeared into the crowd. They headed over to where Chad was waiting with Renji and a man that wore something around his neck made out of fabric.

"I'm glad you made it. I think Urahara is working on something to mask reiatsu since these Fullbringers can sense it," Renji said. "But come on, we need to get to Adel's apartment and get you out of sight. They've seen us, but not you yet."

Chad nodded to them. They all headed out behind the new fellow that Uryū and Orihime didn't know. At this time of night, there weren't many people around. They got back and found that Vanessa was still there. She nodded at them.

"I will prepare coffee for everyone," Adel's tablet said and he headed into the kitchen. Luckily, there were two large futons and a low table for the dining area where there were pillows around it.

Uryū looked at Adel and back to Chad. "Okay, fill us in. We got some of it from Urahara. But honestly, I can't believe what he said."

Renji was pacing back and forth by the window and barely looking at them. "This is bad, really bad, we need to move faster."

Vanessa looked up from the files. "Okay, so as much as I can tell, the Fullbringer that went to your home town and altered memories is still there. You were both affected?" She said and looked at Uryū and Orihime sat down on the futon perpendicular to the one Vanessa was on.

"Yes, I was in the middle of trimming flowers and this guy with dark blue hair came up…but I can't remember anything else about him," she said. "I just felt peaceful when he talked to me, and I just agreed with everything he said."

Uryū nodded. "I was at the hospital. I've been volunteering as an assistant for the last few weeks. That same guy walked up to me and everything was fine."

Renji looked up as Rukia hopped down into the room. "Ikkaku is here, he and Yumichika are watching the building. Urahara wants to call in on one of his contraptions," she said and handed Renji a flat disk.

Adel came out and sat down a tray with several cups and a carafe of coffee. Renji sat down the disk and it came to life, projecting a screen like image above it. Vanessa stared at it.

"Good, it worked!" Urahara said as he leaned in front of it. "Here, I've got Isshin and Tessai here with me. We've left Karin and Yuzu out of this for the time being, but we'll have to loop them in soon," he said and stepped back. They saw that it showed the transmitter was on a table and Isshin, Tessai, and Urahara sat around the table. "I believed that having a full briefing into the matter all at one time would be better than giving information back and forth. You should have Hitsugaya-Taichou…"

From the window there was a thump and they looked back to see Toshiro and Matsumoto step down. "Oh how pretty!" Matsumoto said as she looked around.

Adel stood up. "I believe I'll need more coffee," he said and went to the kitchen. He returned with another carafe and more cups.

Chad spoke up. "This is my friend Adel, he speaks through the tablet, and he's the only one who has had contact with Ichigo. This is Vanessa," he said indicating the tall and very confused woman sitting beside him. "She works for INTERPOL and is also one of the Fullbringers, which is how I received my powers as well."

Vanessa nodded. Renji moved forward. "Vanessa and Adel, Orihime Inoue and Uryū Ishida, two of our friends. Uryū is a Quincy and Orihime has some weird power we aren't sure how she got. Behind them is Hitsugaya-Taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou from division ten in the Gotei 13."

"Oh! I forgot to tell you, you'll be joined by…" Urahara said.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia said as she saw Byakuya stepping down from the sill.

"Taichou!" Renji said and bowed to him.

"I believe I am in time for this briefing. It would seem that the Sou-Taichou believed this necessitated two captains to deal with the situation," he said as he walked in and looked around at those present. "I heard your introductions, I'm familiar with the rest.

"Um, this is my Taichou, Kuchiki-Taichou. Um, why did the Head Captain suddenly decided to intervene?" Renji said and watched him carefully.

"There is another one of these Fullbringers that we have been watching for a while, and the fact that these have Kurosaki is troublesome," he said as he stood beside Toshiro behind the futon that Orihime and Uryū were sitting on.

Vanessa looked rather nervous. "Um, so, I should explain myself before we begin. I'm American, and I work for INTERPOL's organized crime and drug trafficking division. That's why I'm here, monitoring Yakuza activity. I'm also a Fullbringer, one of several that are inside INTERPOL across various countries. We rarely stay in the same areas, just for our safety. We have found that sometimes Fullbringers work their way up these major crime organizations through use of their powers," she said and sighed deeply.

"So this isn't a new thing," Uryū said as he looked around at the others.

"No, these Fullbringers have existed for many years, anyone who is born to a parent that was attacked by a hollow. We have had next to now interactions with those like you, um, Shinigami, but we see you often. We are usually ignored."

"I need to know exactly what has happened to my son," Isshin said as soon as there was an opening.

"Oh, yes, this is Isshin Kurosaki, he is Ichigo's father, and also a captain level Shinigami. So there is concern that there may be some issues related to his powers because of this."

Shinji wandered into the room and rubbed his eyes. "Damn, I take a nap and everyone's here," he muttered as he flopped on the futon almost in Uryū's lap.

Uryū glared at him and scooted closer to Orihime. "Um, well," Adel's tablet spoke. "I have been the only one to come into contact with him personally, and I was able to speak to him. However, obviously I am mute, and so is he, but he used my tablet, and I saved the conversation. I took a few photos as well, mostly because I collect photos of people I meet that I find interesting."

Vanessa nodded to him. He played back the tablet's recording. Everyone was silent at the end and he turned the photos around to show those on the transmission and then passed it around.

"He's had his vocal chords completely removed? Do we know how and with what?" Isshin said solemnly.

"I believe that one of the Fullbringers did that. Please, allow me to detail what we've put together, and then we can discuss how to proceed," Vanessa said.

"Very well, proceed," Isshin said but they all heard the tone to his voice that bespoke more than his words.

Vanessa held up a photo of Kukoa. "This is Kukoa, he is in charge of the Kyoto Kagema House. Now, after some digging, we've uncovered a few troubling things."

"Troubling?" Renji said and stared at her. "Troubling? More troubling than what we know already?"

She nodded. "The fire three months ago that destroyed the last Kagema house was no doubt Kukoa's doing. There have been other incidents where he has let his power get away from him, generally when he is angry. However, we found a link between two of the fires and another individual. The current Wakagashira of this clan of the Yakuza was noted as having been in each location before the fires broke out. Takeshi Nakagawa has been the second in command for the last two years. However, we've found that before that, he was a lower ranking leader of a Kagema brothel. We've traced Kukoa's advancement through the Yakuza."

"And?" Toshiro said from behind the futon where his arms were crossed.

"Nakagawa was the man that he was assigned to when he was kidnapped at thirteen."

There was a moment of utter silence. "You mean that he's after revenge?" Uryū said softly.

"We think he might have encountered in at each of the two fires. Interestingly, I was researching the first fire, there in Karakura Town," she said and slid a file over to the others. "What was buried in some childhood medical records was a nurse that recorded suspicion that he was being molested by the father. It was discounted, written off with a notation of no evidence, so my guess is that he'd said something and the nurse wasn't able to get help for him. This would explain why he holds such hatred for Karakura Town." She shuffled through the papers. "Now, the further I dug into unexplained fires and suspected arsons has revealed a few things that are even more troubling."

She put a map of Kyoto on the table and pointed to about thirty circled areas. "In each of these areas, a fire was set destroying a car, house, or building. In each case, they were all ruled accidental or not arson, but when I contacted some of the people on the case, they revealed that they had believed it to have been arsons. However, there were no accelerants at any scene. It was as though the fire had started out of nowhere."

"Or like a Fullbringer that controls fire," Chad said quietly.

"Exactly. Now, I looked into each person or persons that was killed at these fires. Here is the Kagema house that Kukoa would have begun work in," she said pointing to a large circle. "It burned about the time he was seventeen years old. Most the Kagema got out, but there was one casualty. One of the _kyodai_ or the big brothers in the Yakuza was found dead in one of the bedrooms. Of course no questions were asked." She turned the map around. "I investigated all known Yakuza that visited this Kagema House. Of course, we keep records and track their comings and goings. We can't prove that these Kagema aren't independent sex workers, so nothing can be done about them. We've never been able to prove any underage workers either. Most of those found dead had frequented this House while Kukoa was there."

"He went after everyone that had been to the Kagema House when he was underage," Renji said with a frown.

Uryū shook his head. "No, he's gone after everyone he feels raped him," he said quietly and looked at him. "Before he was old enough to choose, while he was captive and forced into it. He went after all of them with surgical precision."

"Wouldn't the Yakuza notice this?" Toshiro asked with a frown as he leaned over the futon and stared at the map.

"See, it's spread out over the period of more than fifteen years. A fire here, a fire there," Vanessa said as she pointed out the dates she'd written.

Chad looked up. "If he's keeping Ichigo there, knowing we're trying to rescue him…is he waiting for something?"

Vanessa smiled at him. "You're very smart. I've checked with four sources. Takeshi Nakagawa is scheduled to come to Kyoto for a major business meeting in ten days' time. Rumor has it among inside sources that he's scheduled to visit the new Kagema House next Friday."

There was a long silence. "But that means...if we're right…" Renji said and looked at her. "If we're right about this, he plans to burn the place."

She nodded. "Yeah. That's what we think. That's why he's not moving anyone out of that building. He needs to make sure that no one suspects anything, and moving even one Kagema would tip him off that something isn't right."

"That means we have to get Ichigo out before next Friday," Uryū said. "What if…what if I go in?"

Urahara shook his head. "That is too dangerous, Uryū. We don't know for sure that Kukoa doesn't know who you are. The Hando that was here might have reported back already."

"But I could try to get picked up and put with the Kagema, I mean, I'm the right age…" he started.

"Absolutely not," Vanessa said. "We're not sending anyone in like that. There's no guarantee that you won't be killed on sight."

Uryū pursed his lips and nodded. Chad glanced over the table at him and wondered if he'd actually given the idea up. He doubted it.

"My son's condition?" Isshin said from the monitor.

Renji sighed and turned away from the monitor for a moment. He felt Rukia put a hand on his arm. He turned back. "We don't know more than Adel. He's had his vocal chords removed."

"He could make no sound, so I believe they must have been cut away entirely, not simply paralyzed or cut," Adel's tablet commented. "His eye was also blinded."

"His eye…what did it look like?" Isshin asked with a frown.

Adel though. "It was white, like there was a film over it or something. I couldn't really tell much."

"When we tried the first time, Kukoa said that he had blinded himself in one eye trying to escape," Chad said. "He also said that he had to keep him drugged so he didn't try to get away again."

Isshin thought. "But there was not damage to the eye when you saw him?" he asked Adel.

"No, none at all," he said.

"Head injury," Isshin said softly. "He could have suffered a concussion that caused it. That adds a layer of complication. Not only that, but drugging him is going to be difficult."

"What should we expect when we get to him?" Renji asked from where he stood with his arms crossed.

Isshin shook his head. "If he's suffered a concussion, he could have any amount of brain damage, especially if it was enough to blind one of his eyes. The vocal chords, I've got no idea on how to deal with that. The drugging, that depends on the drugs. If he's being sedated, which I would imagine since he said he was drugging him to keep him from trying to escape, there will be withdrawal."

Rukia looked around and asked what the others didn't want to ask. "What about the effects from the…the…what they've done to him in there, Kurosaki-san? What should we expect?"

Isshin swallowed hard. "Male victims tend to become aggressive," he said with a clinical and flat sound to his voice. "They tend to put blame on themselves for not being strong enough, or man enough, to avoid being assaulted. They will often try to push it away, refusing to deal with it. Some are severely anxious and don't want to be touched. Sometimes they are clingy and want to be reassured that they're safe. After over a month…" Isshin paused and they all saw him trying not to lose his composure. "He may have sustained any number of injuries, internally and externally. I've dealt with more than one case of a male sex worker coming into my clinic after a bad client. It isn't something that I'd want anyone to go through."

There was a long silence. "Fullbringers can sense reiatsu, so if any of you get near the building, Kukoa will know. I'm sure he knows that you've been watching it," Vanessa said and looked around.

"Ah, I have a solution for that!" Urahara said jovially from the screen and held up an almost transparent band. "Hides reiatsu. It is also equipped with a failsafe, so if the person wearing it is injured, it emits a distress signal. Of course, it can be sensed by anyone, but hopefully rescue will be faster than anything else. One of you come and pick them up tomorrow, I'll have enough ready by then."

Renji couldn't stand it anymore, though. He growled under his breath and leapt up to the sill and was gone. Rukia sighed as she watched him disappear into the darkness.

"He is not handling this well," Byakuya said from behind her.

Rukia nodded. "No. He blames himself. He thinks if he'd just gone to him, and told him, that maybe it could have been avoided.

Byakuya was quiet for a long moment. "He has to leave the guilt behind if he is going to success. He must not be reckless. He will lose Ichigo forever, and then he will never be able to unburden his heart. His life will be long, and he cannot keep this to himself. He will regret, and it will destroy him," he said finally.

"How long did you know?" Rukia asked as she watched the moon.

"When you left for Hueco Mundo. I suspected before then, but when you left to help him. I knew then. The way he spoke. The heat to his voice. It is unmistakable, especially in one who wears his heart on the outside," he said and walked away toward Toshiro and Matsumoto.

Rukia stared as she saw light beginning to appear in the horizon. "Renji, you idiot. All you had to do is tell him you loved him," she whispered as she wiped fresh tears from her eyes.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 31 (Monday) – 6:45 pm

Ichigo – Kagema House, Floor

Ichigo sat on the futon and waited. It was nearly seven in the evening, and he was hoping he avoided any more clients. His ability to put on the act of being an interested and willing participant was growing thin. It had been ridiculously busy for them all, and he'd had already seven clients. Luckily, one of them just wanted to watch him use a vibrator on himself, and another one just wanted a blow job. Sometimes they were easy, but others were so much more involved. Another one had wanted to put him in all sorts of weird positions using the shackles and the cuffs. His shoulder was still sore from that one.

All in all, it was a typical day for Azami. He swallowed and wanted to just escape this utter hell. He'd managed to avoid Nakimushi, though he still would stare at him with that look anytime they came across each other. Ichigo had no idea why he was so violent and possessive. He just knew he didn't like it, and he really didn't like that it seemed like everyone was working against him.

"Hey!" came Daichi's voice across the room.

Ichigo turned and frowned. Two men were roughly pushing him back and forth between them. He glanced over and saw the guards not doing anything.

"Whatcha gonna do, huh? You're a whore, remember?" one of them said and grabbed Daichi by the arm until he yelped in pain.

"Please, don't, I don't like this kind of thing…" he whined.

"Fuck that, when were' done with you, bitch, you'll never be the same," the second one said and slapped him across the face.

Ichigo wanted to ignore it. Well, Azami would have ignored it. But Ichigo was still there, just barely, holding onto threads of his identity. He found himself standing and moving before he even thought about it. He moved with his usual fluidity and before two breaths had passed, both the men who had been bothering Daichi were on the floor. He blinked and then looked horrified at what he'd done.

Daichi stared at him with wide eyes. "Azami!" he gasped. "Why did you…"

Ichigo winced as he felt the guard grab him by the bicep. The two guys stood up as the attendant came over.

"Oh, goodness, please, forgive Azami! He's new…" the attendant said franticly.

"Why the fuck should we forgive this whore?" the first said.

"Please, we will upgrade your Kagema to Azami if it would please you," the attendant said with a short bow.

"Upgrade?" the second one asked.

"Azami is Voiceless, so his price is double that of the others, but for the inconvenience we will allow you to take him in recompense."

The two men exchanged a look. "Alright, sounds good. These Voiceless whores are supposedly the ones that serve the higher ups, huh?"

"Oh yes, they are. Azami's here because he has not scheduled clients for the day, so he is allowed to service regular customers," the attendant boasted. "Please, he has a special room prepared for him, and I believe that it will be to your pleasures."

"Alright," the first said. Ichigo looked up to see he was a shorter man with thick black hair that curled slightly around his face. The second one was a much taller and thinner man, but Ichigo could see the muscles of his arms through his shirt. His hair was a lighter color, but not by much.

"Come, Azami," the attendant said and grabbed him by the arm. "You'll take these two clients, now won't you…" It wasn't a question.

Ichigo glanced back and saw Daichi watching him walk away. He swallowed and nodded to him as he was escorted to his room. He was pushed in and the two men followed him. The door closed with a thump and Ichigo waited.

"So, he's a tough one, eh?" the shorter said.

"So it seems," said the second as he walked around in front of Ichigo. "Do you really have no vocal chords?"

Ichigo nodded. The short one smirked. "Well, let's see if that's true."

Ichigo didn't expect the tall one to grab his right arm and twist it up behind him until he was standing on his toes, panting through the pain of it. He would have screamed out but of course, only a long low exhale emerged.

"I'll be damned. Toru, I thought they were fucking exaggerating about that shit…" the short one said with a grin.

"I did too. Hey, Izumi, what do you think, these are supposed to be the best, you think we could double fuck him?" Toru said with a smirk.

Ichigo still had his arm twisted behind him and was concentrating through the pain. Izumi grinned. "I think so. Come on, throw him down on the bed there."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief as the one named Izumi let go of his arm. He felt himself spun over on his back and Toru pulled the pink kimono decorated with white lotus blossoms open with a grin. He ran his hands up and down Ichigo's stomach and chest. He paused at the brand and ran his fingers over it.

"Fuck, that's a brand…" Toru said. Izumi looked over and ran his fingers over it.

"Shit, that's fucking hard core," Izumi muttered.

"And cutting out their voice box isn't?" Toru asked with an arched brow.

Izumi nodded. "But they do it as a sign of devotion. You'd have to be fucking devoted to let someone rip out part of your throat and brand you. Are you that devoted, Azami-kun?"

Ichigo just stared at him in response. "Whatever," Toru said and climbed up on the bed.

Toru settled against the headboard and grinned at Ichigo. He gestured to him. Ichigo rolled off his back and let the kimono slide off and crawled over to straddle his lap. He gasped as Izumi grabbed his wrists and clicked the cuffs onto the rings over Toru's head. He swallowed and felt his stomach flip as Toru began to run his hands up and down his shaft to get a reaction. Ichigo concentrated because he had learned how to do this when they wanted him to. He had to. He jerked in the cuffs as he felt Izumi slide two fingers into him.

"Fuck, he's nice and wet already…already had a few today, huh?" he whispered into his ear. Ichigo still didn't answer in any way. He was supposed to be using his skills, but he just couldn't, not now.

Toru ripped the condom open and reached under and slipped it on. "Fuck, I wish they let you bareback," he muttered as he grabbed Ichigo's hips and pulled him over his cock.

"I think they do when it's the special clients," Izumi said as he held Ichigo's hips from behind and watched as he slid down on Toru. "Fuck, that's hot…" he muttered. "Nothing hotter than watching a dick disappear into a boy's ass…"

Ichigo winced because he wasn't a small one. He'd gotten lucky a few times and got clients that were really small. They were a nice change, and as long as they got off, that's all that mattered. He swallowed as he started to move but Toru grabbed his hips and then ran his hands up to his back.

"Lean forward," Toru said and Ichigo knew they were actually going to do this to him. "Izumi, you might want to grab some lube though, otherwise, he might rip, and I don't really want blood on me…"

"True," Izumi said and leaned to the table and fished out a lube and a condom. He put the condom on and looked at the lube. "Oh, this is nice, it's cinnamon, says it leaves a good burn…"

Ichigo swallowed because he hated that one. It wasn't good at all. He felt him slip a finger coated with the stuff in and he winced at the sensation as he worked his finger around the cock already inside him. He whimpered at it but nothing came out of course. He felt the guy move up and put his hands on his hips. He knew this was going to hurt, but it couldn't be worse than that cradle thing…

Ichigo gasped and coughed as he felt him forcing his cock into the already full space. "I don't know if I'll fit, Toru," he muttered.

"Put some more lube on, you'll fit, this boy's been fucked so much his ass is like a used pussy," he said and wriggled under him.

"It's tighter than any fucking pussy I've ever fucked," Izumi muttered as he pressed forward again.

Ichigo felt the pain strike up his spine as he slipped with deceptive ease into him beside the other one. Oh kami, he thought, why couldn't they have both been small ones… It took forever before he felt that he was fully seated.

"Goddamn," Izumi gasped. "That…oh fuck…"

Ichigo couldn't stop the tears from leaking from his eyes so he tried to turn away from the one under him. He felt his chin grabbed and wrenched around to lock eyes with Toru. "Fuck this bitch hard, Izumi. I want to see the pain in his eyes turn to pleasure when I jerk him off."

Ichigo gasped again and tried to pull his arms free but he couldn't as Izumi began slow at first but worked himself up to a faster and faster, and then harder, rhythm. Ichigo couldn't help the tears that fell but then gasped again as Toru began stroking him with a grin on his face. Ichigo concentrated because he had to climax or they'd tell Kukoa that he hadn't pleased them. Finally he forced it, only by thinking of two entirely different people filling him like this. The two under him went over seconds later and Ichigo hoped they were done with him, but they weren't.

They both rested a bit until they both came back to erect and Izumi yanked him down to the floor to kneel beside the bed. "Suck, bitch," he muttered as he sat on the edge. Ichigo nodded and started to work him over but found out that he wasn't interested in anything but throat fucking him. He gagged a bit but managed to get with it. As he was doing that, Toru had knelt behind him and slipped inside him again, using the awful cinnamon lubricant. Ichigo was sure someone made that just to torture people.

After a couple hours of various things, they left him on the bed. He swallowed against the soreness in his throat. He had almost fallen asleep when he felt someone grab him by the hair and he gasped as he found himself looking at Kukoa.

"Attacking clients, Azami?" he said quietly.

Ichigo's eyes went wide. He mouthed 'I'm sorry' several times but Kukoa grinned. "You're going down to the Punishment room again for three days, Azami. I won't tolerate such things out of any of you."

Ichigo tried to plead with him to not do it, but he was being drug through the door and to the elevator. He felt tears already flowing because he didn't want to go into the white room again. He gasped as he was tossed to the familiar floor. Kukoa smiled at him.

"Get a good night's sleep, Azami. I'll be back in the morning and I'm going to introduce you to a couple more of my devices," he said and left.

Ichigo moved and sat against the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. This was almost worse, not knowing, and waiting, he thought as he rested his head on his knees. He was going to go mad at this rate, he was sure of it.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 31 (Monday) – 10:00 pm

Uryū, Orihime – Sweet Lotus Bar

"Uryū, are you sure this is okay?" Orihime said as they walked into the bar.

"I know what I'm doing," he muttered as they sat down.

Orihime stared at him. "But…if this works, they'll take you up there and make you…do those things with guys!" she whispered as their drinks were set down.

Uryū rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter," he said quietly. "I have to try and help him."

"But Uryū, if you do that…what if they cut your voice out?" she said urgently.

"They won't," Uryū said as he drank down the cup of sake. "I'm not 'unique' enough for that. No, if this works, they'll toss me on the regular floor to work as one of the regular Kagema."

Orihime smiled at the waitress as she sat down a Ramune for her. "But you'll have to have sex with those guys, Uryū. I mean…"

"Orihime, sometimes you are so naïve," he muttered. "You realize I'm gay already, right?"

She blinked rapidly at him for a moment. "Oh."

Uryū rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm not surprised you didn't notice," he said as he kept watching around the room. "You never noticed Ichigo was either."

"Wait, what?" she said.

The black cat in the vent above the bar shook its head. Would that girl ever understand what was happening around her?

Uryū shook his head. "Seriously? How long have you been trying to get his attention, Orihime? Yet, less than a week after meeting Renji, he's practically chasing him around to get his attention. And then him and Chad…I mean it is quite obvious. The way he sticks to Chad and the way Chad puts himself between Ichigo and everything in the world. I guess you really do have to be gay to pick up on other gay guys," he muttered and sipped another cup of the sake.

"But…but…he came to get me…and he…" she started.

"He did the same for Rukia," Uryū commented. "He would have done the same for anyone, Orihime. He's utterly and completely devoted to his friends. Sure, he loves you, but not like that. In that…Ichigo and I are on the same level," he said with a sigh. "I just…I should have thought to say something to him, you know, to get him to understand that I was there for him if he needed to talk. Then we didn't listen to Renji and Chad, and we should have. We should have realized that they were right. But it was easier not to."

Orihime rubbed the band that was secured around her wrist on the right. Uryū had one just like it on his right hand where the Quincy cross was secured tightly around his wrist now. Urahara had come up with these devices, and after testing them with Vanessa and Adel, they found they successfully masked their spiritual presence.

Orihime nodded. "Okay, but you're okay with being made sleep with these random guys?" she said quietly.

Uryū shrugged. "Whatever it takes to get Ichigo out of there," he muttered. "Is my face flushed like I'm drunk yet?" he asked.

She nodded. "A bit, but you still sound sober."

"Right, well, I'll slur a bit when I get in the elevator. I want them to think I hit the wrong button and ended up in the top floors by accident," he said as he tossed back another cup of the sake.

"What do I tell Urahara-kun?" she asked.

He stood up and wobbled. "Tell him I might get myself killed, but I'm going to try." Uryū giggled a bit, the alcohol hitting him. "I guess I'm putting my ass on the line after all," he muttered to himself and headed toward the door and then to the elevator.

Uryū got in the elevator and blinked. He wasn't really that drunk, but his vision was blurring a bit. He pushed the top floor button and grinned. Well, if nothing else, he'd get a chance to see what a Kagema House looks like, he guessed. He rubbed his eyes hard for a while to get them really red and blinked away the stars. When the door opened he stumbled out into the foyer where the entrance to the Kagema House was, and he saw the door that required a code. He stumbled about the room a second then knocked on the door.

"Hello?" he said and put his head against the door. "I might have pushed tha wrong number," he said as he swayed there.

He fell forward as the door opened and he looked up to see a very large man looking down at him. "What the hell is this?" he asked.

Uryū looked up and smiled. "Sposed to meet this guy…but think I pushed the wrong number…" he said as he stumbled to his feet and held onto the big guard. "Hmm, but you might work," he said and leaned heavy against him.

The world spun and Uryū found himself staring at the guy's back and the floor. Well that was quick, he thought to himself as he watched his black boots. There was something on the heel of the left one, a white smudge it looked like. Of course, the worst case scenario about this was that they knew why he was here and killed him. That wouldn't be good for him, he supposed. The motion stopped and he was dropped to the floor in an empty, windowless room. He blinked as the door slammed and locked. He sat up and looked at the blank wall. This probably wasn't the best outcome… he thought to himself as the sake caught up with him and he fell asleep.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 32 (Tuesday) – 9:00 am

Ichigo – Kagema House "Punishment" Room

The opening of the door woke Ichigo from his restless sleep. He looked up to see Kukoa smiling at him as he dropped a bag on the floor in front of him. Ichigo swallowed a ball in his throat.

"Ah, sweet Azami. So, I had this interesting thing happen, this boy stumbled into the top floor last night. And I thought, this kid looks familiar. So I called my friend Hando that deals with family and friends of my Kagema. And make me surprised if he isn't from Karakura Town, son of the head of a hospital, Uryū Ishida."

Ichigo's eyes went wide. What? Why would Ishida be here in Kyoto? They couldn't be looking for him. That was stupid. This was Yakuza.

"And I thought, well isn't this fortuitous. So many humans you were friends with, and those others with powers…I stopped them from coming here, though. I guess Ishida-san threw off the effects sooner than the rest of them. Won't matter, because he's going to see what I'll do to you because of him. I had actually thought of letting the incident last night slide, but then I thought, why waste the chance to torture you and him. He won't be leaving, either, Azami. He's locked up in a different room."

Ichigo shook his head and mouthed words for him to stop, to let him go, anything… It didn't help as he looked up to see the door open and a familiar face being led into the room. Uryū was tied up, and Kukoa held up his hand. Ichigo saw it was the Quincy cross he wore. Uryū locked eyes on him and started to struggle against the guy holding him up. His arms were bound in front of him, but locked in a harness. It started at each shoulder and wrapped all the way down to bind his arms to his wrists, then each finger was wrapped with thin rope and separated from each other. His legs weren't tied but he was gagged with a cloth.

"Never thought there were any more Quincies, but when Hando came back and described this one, I figured out what he had to be. Then this confirmed it. Now," Kukoa said and stood up. He smiled at Uryū.

"Ishida-san, you know what I like? I like torture devices. I was telling Azami here that I would show him a few more than he's already seen. However, so many are deadly, or cause maiming or permanent damage. I don't want that. A damaged whore can't work, you know?" he said as he knelt down and reached into the bag. He pulled out a thing that was somewhat pear shaped with a small ball at one end and a screw in the other sticking out from the smaller end. "This is a what I call a Lotus Gag."

He walked over to Uryū and held it in front of his eyes. "Watch," he said as he twisted the screw and the ball opened slowly, the "petals" opening up wider and wider with each turn of it. "This one is made for oral use. Medieval Europeans called this thing a Pear of Anguish. One of the few things that didn't kill the victim, just hurt a very large amount."

Uryū glared at him, thinking he would be the one he used it on. He smiled and went where Ichigo was sitting. "Come Azami, let's show your old friend how well you bear pain."

Ichigo shook his head and tried to pull away from him but Kukoa smiled. "Come, or I'll use it on him."

Ichigo looked at Uryū who was shaking his head. He swallowed and stood up slowly as Kukoa led him to the suspension rod. He looked it over. "What to put you in…" he muttered. "Ah, I've got it."

Kukoa put the Lotus down and started harnessing the rope around Ichigo. He pulled his hands behind him and wrapped rope around them, tying them together with his palms flat to each other. Ichigo's eyes bulged and he panted as the position pulled everything in his arms and chest. Kukoa smirked and then looped a rope around his throat and pulled it into the bindings on his hand and cinched it tight. Ichigo could choke himself if he let his hands relax, or he could hold his arms up to keep the pressure off his throat. It wasn't enough to kill him, provided that Kukoa didn't keep it on for a very long time. He then pushed him to his knees as he tried to keep the rope from pressing into his throat.

Kukoa then tied a bar to his waist in the ropes and then twisted both his legs up and over it. Ichigo was sure his hips were going to dislocate at this. He then moved around and pulled his head up. He picked up the Lotus gag and held it before him. "Open, Azami," he said.

Ichigo saw the horrified look on Uryū's face but he did as he was told. Kukoa smiled at him and pushed it into his mouth. By itself, it filled his mouth with his jaw open wide. He panted for a moment then Kukoa started turning the screw on the end. As the petals opened, he realized they were sharp and started cutting into his tongue and the inside of his mouth. He kept opening it until Ichigo was sure his jaw was going to come unhinged, but he stopped and locked the end. Ichigo leaned forward, letting the rope choke him gladly as blood dripped down to the floor from his mouth.

Uryū struggled against the guard that held him as Ichigo tried to get to a position to relieve the pressure but that was impossible. Kukoa pulled the ropes around and looped them through rings he'd left in the waist of the harness. He pulled him up and let his knees just rest on the floor with his legs twisted around the rod and up near his back. He then went back to the back and pulled out another one of the Lotus things. This one, though, was tapered a bit toward the end, and looked like it was covered with something rubbery. It was also larger than the other one.

Kukoa looked at Uryū. "You didn't think that was all, did you?" he said to him. Uryū shook his head and screamed through the gag. "Don't worry, I don't want him permanently damaged."

Ichigo looked up and felt spit and blood dripping down his chin as he moved behind him. He knew exactly what he was doing with that. He coughed on something, saliva or blood, he wasn't sure which, as Kukoa pressed the thing against his entrance. He felt tears as he forced the thing into him and he was briefly relieved when it reached the base. At least that was smaller. Then he flinched and would have screamed if he had a voice as he started twisting the screw and the leaves of it opened slowly.

"Now this, of course, is the same design, but made for the victim's ass instead of the mouth. This has been modified, of course, coated with silicon, and the base expands with the leaves to about oh…let's see how much we can take it…" he said and twisted it several more times. "My, my, Azami, it's almost all the way open in there, what a little slut you've become," he muttered. "Well, I guess those two last night did shove their cocks up your ass at the same time last night…but it was entirely your fault for attacking them."

Uryū winced and closed his eyes as he watched blood begin to trickle down from Ichigo's legs to the floor. Kukoa smiled. "Ah, there, all the way. You'll need a day or two to recover after this, I'm sure, but I think you'll have learned your lesson by then. I'll have the nurse come give you a shot of antibiotics and some amphetamine, after all, don't want you falling asleep, now do I?"

Ichigo looked at him, horrified. He was literally going to die like this, he thought. There was no way he wasn't. Kukoa smiled and knelt down in front of him.

"There's a way to stop this, you know, Azami," he said with a wicked grin.

Ichigo looked at him with pleading eyes. Kukoa shrugged. "Give me your Fullbring."

He might have looked surprised if he hadn't been in so much pain but he shook his head. His Fullbring? What did that mean? He didn't have powers. His power was gone.

"Ah, you don't know how, do you? A shame. Maybe a couple days in here will show you how to do it. But that's all you have to do, Azami. Give it to me, and I'll stop this torture."

Kukoa smiled and drug Uryū to the side of the room where a white colored pole stood in the corner. Ichigo had never noticed that. Kukoa smirked as he bound Uryū to the pole facing Ichigo.

"Watch your friend suffer," he whispered in his ear. "Watch him well, because if I don't get what I want, that will be you."

Kukoa turned and smiled at Ichigo and left with the guard on his heels. Ichigo watched them go and felt like he would rather do anything but have been seen by someone in this condition. He wrenched his head up to look at Uryū who just stared with a look on his face that Ichigo interpreted as disgust. Of course, it was pure horror instead, but that wasn't what Azami saw. He saw disgust and hate and disappointment in his weakness. His head dropped and his breathing was strangled. He couldn't die like this, he realized because it wasn't tight enough to cut his air off completely, only make it harder to breathe. He sobbed and tears fell to mix with the blood on the floor. He stared at it. At least it wasn't white.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 32 (Tuesday) – 3:00 pm

Team 2, Adel, Vanessa, Chad, Orihime– Adel's apartment

"He did what?" Renji said with wide eyes as he stared at Orihime.

"He…he said he had to do something, so he went in, and he didn't come back out," she said softly.

Renji turned and looked at Vanessa who had a looked of pure annoyance. "He's going to get himself killed," she said as she sat down heavily on the futon.

They'd split everyone into two teams. Each team took 12 hour shifts watching the building and patrolling the area around it. Team 1 had been arranged as Toshiro, Matsumoto, Rukia, and Shinji. Team 2 had been arranged as Byakuya, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. The humans, of course, weren't on the teams, and Byakuya had tentatively told Renji he was to be with him on team 2, but he knew that he wasn't going to do much good in the current state he was in. They had also wanted to split the groups by combat types. Shinji and Matsumoto's Zanpakutō would work well in tight confines. Byakuya's and Yumichika's were also decent in close hand to hand. However, they had to avoid interacting with humans in their Shinigami form. For this reason, Matsumoto, Shinji, Yumichika, Rukia, and Ikkaku had their Gigai. They could fight decently in Gigai without having to use their Zanpakutō. Byakuya and Matsumoto both had an advantage that their weapons were able to move easily through small spaces and still be effective.

They also had the rest of the Vizard on their side. They had briefly visited, but had already gotten their bands from Urahara. They opted to hit the streets in Gigai and see if they couldn't find a way to access the building or people involved with this group. Having spent a hundred years as humans, they had a distinct advantage over those that had lived in Soul Society all their lives. Shinji opted to remain with the others for that reason, but he sent Hiyori and the others out. They sent someone to report in each night close to midnight.

Byakuya looked at Vanessa. "We have to move. The longer we wait, the more chance that they'll die at this rate."

There was a thump and they looked to see Rukia come down into the room. "This is ridiculous," she said as she flopped onto the futon.

"What happened?" Yumichika asked as he played Rangiku's makeup bag.

"The security on that place has increased tenfold," she said with a sigh. "I mean, I know they realize that we're after them, but could Uryū have told them how many had come to help?"

Chad shook his head. "Uryū would not," he said quietly. "But he is no doubt in trouble."

Vanessa felt the phone buzz in her pocket and she pulled it out. "Johnsons," she said and frowned. "Understood." She laid the phone down.

"This isn't good."

Byakuya looked at her. "What has occurred?" he asked.

"Takeshi Nakagawa's arrival in Kyoto last night was confirmed. We aren't sure how much time we have before he heads to the Kagema House. All I know is that is his last stop before he leaves Kyoto," Vanessa said. "He wasn't supposed to be here for another week. This might change things for Kukoa as well."

Byakuya sighed and nodded. "I'll be back in an hour," he said and took out his sword to open the senkaimon. "I need to get something from Kurotsuchi."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 32 (Tuesday) – 4:00 pm

Kukoa, Kagawa – Kukoa's office, Kagema House

"What do you mean he's arrived already?" Kukoa growled at the messenger.

"I'm sorry, sir. His daughter's wedding is scheduled for next weekend, and he had to move his visit up," the messenger said. "He said he will be here Saturday in expectation of seeing how well you have done with the new House."

"Dismissed," he muttered and turned around and stared out the window.

"You seem bothered by the advance of the plan," Kagawa said from the shadows.

"I'd hoped to train him more before he arrived. I wanted to keep him in the White Room for another two days at least and have that idiot Quincy watch him. He won't talk yet," he muttered.

So far, he hadn't gotten anything out of the Quincy. He flicked the monitor on his desk on and saw that Azami was still fighting with the ropes to breathe. He'd been there for nearly eight hours. The blood had continued to pool under him and sighed. He'd have to take him to the Recovery room and have Kagawa use his powers on him. He growled under his breath again.

"Have him and the Quincy moved to the Recovery Room. I want that Quincy to see everything. I sense that he's the type that doesn't care about his own suffering, but watching Azami suffer is going to tear at him. Send Nakimushi in tonight to visit him after you've healed the wounds," he said and turned away from him. "Make sure the Quincy is made to watch."

Kagawa smiled and left the room. Kukoa sat down and looked out the window. If he noticed the black cat outside passing on the sill, he didn't react to it. Considering it was the 87th floor, it perhaps should have seemed a bit out of place


	8. Turning the Tides

Chapter Eight

Day 32 (Wednesday) – 4:30 pm

Uryū, Ichigo – Recovery Room

Uryū was frantic by the time he'd been shackled to a bed in what looked like a hospital room. The amount of blood that Ichigo had lost already worried him a lot, and he wasn't sure if he was going to live through it. He tried to pull away from the shackles on his arms but Ichigo was put down on the bed beside him, somehow still awake. There was about three feet between the two beds and if he'd had use of his hands, he could have touched him.

"Oh, dear me," the nurse said as she approached. "Lotus?" she said and looked at Kukoa.

"Yes, Kagawa will need to help you," he said and ducked his head to leave. "I'm afraid Azami needed a good lesson in pain today to remind him of his place. And to show his friend what happens to bad boys in my house."

She smiled. "Tsk, tsk, so violent," she said and left for a second to a room nearby. Uryū managed to work the gag out of his mouth. He was rather lucky that they hadn't made it from sturdier material.

"Ichigo!" he hissed at him. "Look at me, please!"

Ichigo turned his head over and Uryū saw he was barely conscious. He sighed and put his hand on his head.

"We have to get out of here, help me out of this, I can fight…" he whispered.

Ichigo turned to him with wide eyes and shook his head. He mouthed no, no you can't at him. He pointed to the whitened eye and shrugged.

"I know you tried to get out already, but I'm here, I can help you escape this time! I've got ways to help, Ichigo," he whispered. "I'm not powerless without my cross."

Ichigo shook his head. No point, he mouthed at him.

"Oh, my look at you trying to encourage Azami…" the nurse said as she came back with a shorter man.

"His name's Ichigo," Uryū growled out.

"Not anymore," she said. "No, we beat that name out of him, well, beat and fucked it out of him, I assure you. And you really don't want to try and escape, does he, Azami?"

Ichigo looked at her and shook his head again. "See, what you saw, those lotus things, that's only one of Kukoa's methods. Azami, should he be introduced to the cradle?" she said with a smirk.

Uryū saw the instant change in him as the color remaining in his face drained and he shook his head franticly. "Didn't think you'd want him to be put on that thing. Granted, certainly made you a much better whore, don't ya think?" she said as she stood beside him. "I mean, after that thing, you didn't have any issue taking a client dry, did you?"

Ichigo turned his face away from Uryū. Uryū gulped because he had a good idea what that might have been for. The doctor placed his hands over Ichigo's face, holding his scalpel across his fingers. Uryū watched as he seemed to channel some sort of power through it and the bleeding from Ichigo's mouth staunched where it had been dripping down his face. He moved to hold his hands in a similar position above his lower belly and Ichigo gasped and coughed silently.

"Hmm, they should have let me do this after the violent bastard that took you first. You're still healing from that, so let's fix that, and while we're at it…" he muttered and his hands twisted in the air. Ichigo's eyes went wide and he arched upward. "There, there, that might make your next few clients feel special. Of course, you'll be in pain, but they'll enjoy it, almost like fucking a virgin again," he muttered.

He reached down and picked up the hand that he'd broken. Uryū hadn't gotten a good look at it but he realized it was seriously mangled. "Too bad I'm only able to affect soft tissues," he said. "Oh well, it's a good reminder what happens when you try to escape Kukoa and us."

He looked at Uryū and at the nurse. She smiled. "A wannabe savior," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Hmm, I wonder why Kukoa hasn't killed him yet," Kagawa said thoughtfully. He looked at the blonde haired woman. "Hinata, my dear, maybe you should use a little of your power on him, just to make sure he's docile enough. I mean, he's going to get to see sweet little Nakimushi tomorrow, after all."

Uryū watched Ichigo as he reacted to hearing the name and started shaking his head. Hinata smirked. "Aw, does the poor Kagema not like being fucked by someone his equal?" she asked. "Or is it that the little shit turned out to be a sadistic little fuck and likes to hurt you as much as the asshole clients hurt him?"

She moved forward and then glanced at Uryū. "Kukoa said he was a Quincy. I thought they were dead."

"Must be a couple left, but I have no idea what powers they have," Kagawa muttered as he stared at Uryū. "Scramble his brain a bit, not too much, Kukoa is going to question him tomorrow down in the White Room. See if he can't figure out what these idiots that think they can take us down are planning."

Hinata smiled. "Oh, boy, the best part," she muttered and moved to stare at the dark haired boy. "Tell me, what is the darkest thing…the part of your soul you want to hide and don't want anyone to ever see…"

She lifted her hands and Uryū saw it was a coin of some sort that she was dancing across her knuckles. She smiled and Uryū's eyes went wide. There was something, someone, whispering…but it was in his head. He blinked and shook his head.

"Get out of my head!" he yelled and shook his head.

She only smiled and continued dancing the coin across her knuckles from one hand to the other. "Darkness, let it surface…speak it…whisper it…darkness…"

Uryū's eyes fixed on the coin and he stared for a long moment. "They'll find out."

"Who…who my dear…" she whispered.

Ichigo hadn't seen this one's Fullbring yet. Uryū just stared at her. "That I'm so alone, so lonely, and I can't stand the thought of being alone…"

"You are alone…" she muttered. "Aren't you?"

"I can't…" he muttered and started to blink. He breathed in and out several times.

Ichigo couldn't see it, but he knew what he was doing. He was collecting reishi from the room around them to push off her effects. She could see exactly what he was doing, though. She glared at him. "What is this? You fucking annoying brat, stop that!" she yelled.

"That's impressive," Kagawa said with a smirk. "He's literally gaining spiritual energy from thin air. You might not want to push him too much, or he might turn your power against you, Hinata…" he said.

She growled and stepped back. "That may be, but your friend can't resist it."

Ichigo gasped as she turned on him, instantly catching his eyes with the coin dancing over her knuckle. "There, so much different when it's a stupid human," she muttered. "You can't speak but I know it already…worthless...weak…used…alone… You're the type I loved to mess with before Kukoa found me. I could make you kill yourself so easily…instead…I'll let you suffer in an infinite loop of whispers your own mind creates…until it wears off eventually."

Ichigo just stared as she left, his mind spiraling and spinning. He couldn't hear Uryū yelling beside him at all. He just saw repeated words and thoughts that he had thought a million times.

 _Pointless. Useless. Worthless. What are you if you aren't a Shinigami anymore?_

 _Lonely. Alone. Hopeless. Where should you be if you can't be with the ones you want to be with?_

 _Disgusted. Defiled. Ruined. Who would want a person as defiled and ruined as you?_

 _Numb. Cold. Lost…so very lost…_

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 33 (Thursday) – 3:00 pm

Shinji, Lisa, Hiyori – Fujimoto 87

"So the plan is simple," Shinji said with his hands stuffed into his pockets as he walked into the building. "We're going in up to the real estate office. Once there, we'll use the device Urahara gave me that will render us invisible to the outside world for a short time. We get into a hiding position, set up the other device that will block all senses for twenty-four hours. It will be a long wait, but it's the only choice we've got…" he said as they took the elevator to the thirty second floor.

Beside him, Lisa was nodding and reading her book. She was playing the part of his wife looking for a nice apartment in Kyoto. Hiyori, as annoyed as she was at the act, was playing their daughter. She had grumbled endlessly but ended up wearing the school girl outfit to look like she'd just left one of the local middle schools. She hadn't said anything since they entered the building. Shinji knew he was going to pay for it afterward. She was going to make his life miserable for a while.

Byakuya, Rangiku, Rukia – Fujimoto 87

Byakuya watched Shinji disappear into the building and then looked over at the other two. "We have to put ourselves in position on the roof. If necessary, we can drop down from there. There's a roof access up there. Best case, we can get Ichigo up there and off. Shinji and the other Vizard are adept at using Shunpo in their Gigai."

He looked at Rukia. "Are you sure you can handle this alone? We can't help if we're up on the roof."

"Nii-sama, I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing," she said with a smile.

She was in Gigai, and wearing an outfit that left little to the imagination. Byakuya hadn't liked the idea, but there was an acting agency on the fiftieth floor, and Rukia had gotten an audition. She was going to be terrible, but she at least would have a reason to be on that floor. He nodded and they took off to the roof. Their only hope was that Urahara's masking devices worked properly.

Rukia disappeared into the building without an issue.

Chad, Renji, Adel, Vanessa – Adel's apartment

"We need to be there, helping!" Renji growled in vast frustration.

"It would be a bad idea for you to even try to go in. You're known to them. Same with Orihime. It was foolish for your friend Ishida to go in like that," Vanessa said with a sigh.

Renji paced even so. "What about the others?"

"The short boy with silver hair was also memory altered, so he is staying in, you called it soul form?" she said hesitantly. Renji nodded. "He's taken up a position to patrol around the building. The two others, the bald one and the one with the feathers, they are going to enter the building tomorrow morning. We have to be patient," Vanessa said with a smile.

Renji sat down and a growl emitted from his lips. He wanted to get into that building now. Chad sat down beside him. "We cannot rush this. We must do this correctly or we may lose them."

Renji sighed and looked at Chad. "Both of them. Seriously, those two are so much trouble, and I can't even begin to think what Uryū was thinking."

Chad sighed. "He was thinking he had to save Ichigo."

"Why?" Adel's tablet said from beside them. "I am curious. I have noted that while the others want to save him, you two, and Uryū, are far more driven than the others."

Renji sighed. "It's a matter of things left unsaid for me," he said as he looked up. "We Shinigami live so long, and it is a rare thing to come across someone that makes…makes it worth living that long. I just…I didn't think anything would come of it. He fights well. He tries to protect others. Then when I left, I went to Soul Society, and I abandoned him. And I said it was for him. It wasn't," Renji said and looked away from Adel. "I didn't want to see him powerless. I didn't want to see him weak, because somewhere in my idiot mind, I got it in there that weak is the worst thing someone can be. Then this. I can't leave it like that. Even if…if he has no interest in what I have to ask, then it's fine, at least I'll say what needs to be said."

Adel smiled and nodded. "Unrequited love is the most painful. Chad, you never told me more than he was your friend? Is that all there is to your part in this? I know you've known him longer than anyone else."

Chad was quiet as usual. He looked up and sighed. "Ichigo is the reason I'm a Fullbringer. Ichigo is the reason that I became a better person. He stood and fought when I refused. Even if it meant he was barely able to walk when he was done. He wouldn't let it go, and such…fury. And I did not think, before he wasn't there anymore, that it was anything but exactly that. When he was gone, though, I ached. I needed to find him." Chad paused. "And now Uryū is gone as well, and I do not think there is much more that can be taken from my heart."

Renji swallowed and nodded. "Dammit, Uryū," he muttered. "I knew he was going to do it. Just the look on his face when he came up with this stupid idea. He'd do anything for Ichigo," he said with a deep sigh. "He always did. And Ichigo will stand by him, too. He hates Shinigami, but he'll stand with Ichigo until the end. Two people I never thought I would need. Every time that arrogant bastard came to Soul Society since Ichigo lost his powers, I was glad. He was a piece of what we had for a short time," he said as he stood up and paced for a moment. "How can it be that things are so damned complicated? I mean, I don't even know if Ichigo even has an inclination for this…thing with us," he muttered.

"Do you love them?" Adel's tablet said.

Renji and Chad exchanged a look. "Well, yeah, they're important to us, and they're our friends," Renji stammered out.

"No, do you love them? Not as friends, not as family even, do you love them?"

"I don't…I mean…them? I…I can't even think that I could…be that…and we…I don't know!" Renji said and flopped into the futon by Chad.

"It is not hard. Love is not a finite thing. Love goes beyond barriers such as the flesh and the soul, and it matters none where people come from, and where they are going. If you love them, your Ichigo, and your Uryū, then accept that, and your heart will be lighter," the tablet spoke. "I'm asexual, and even I could see the way Uryū would glance at you both, but especially Chad," and Adel smirked. "I may not be sexually attracted to others, but I certainly notice when others are."

Renji jumped when someone fell into the futon beside him. He looked over to see Yumichika yawning. "Oh this is wreaking my beauty sleep," he muttered. "I see you are all in deep conversation. What's this about love and the like? I mean, if you're talking about Ichigo and Uryū, I could have told you that a long time ago," he said and flipped his hair of his shoulder.

"What?" Renji said with a glare.

"Please, Abarai-san. Don't be so dull. You've been obsessed with those two since they burst into Soul Society to rescue Rukia. Ichigo more than the Quincy, but Uryū does know how to dress fashionably…" he said.

Ikkaku smacked Yumichika lightly. "Yo, don't be dreaming on other men."

Yumichika sighed and tipped his head back. "Ikkaku, you know you're the only man for me no matter what I say about all the pretty men around me." Yumichika looked at Chad and shook his head. "And you, good kami, you've been in love with Ichigo from the first day. You would do anything he asked of you, with no questions, wouldn't you?"

Chad nodded slightly. "And Uryū," Ikkaku said with a smirk. "If that boy's gaze has anything to do with it, he's got eyes for Chad."

Renji and Chad exchanged a glance. "It's too weird, though," Renji said. "It's…it's not normal to be in love with more than one person, so it would be a choice and I know it would not be me in the end," he said and looked away.

"Normal?" Yumichika said and crossed his arms. "You're a Soul Reaper. He's a Human, a Soul Reaper, and apparently a Fullbringer. What part of Ichigo is normal? And Uryū's a Quincy, so nothing normal there."

Renji looked at him. "But, you can't…I mean, there's not…and we're…I'm not even into guys to start with usually…" he stammered.

Yumichika rolled his eyes and reached over and grabbed Renji's head by the hair and kissed him suddenly. Ikkaku snickered behind him as Renji's eyes went wide and he pushed him off. "What the hell!" he said and glared at him.

"Well?" Yumichika said and crossed his legs primly. "Did you get turned on?"

"No!" Renji said with a frown.

"So it's not a guy thing, it's an Ichigo and Uryū thing," he said with a shrug. "So what? Seriously, you should know these things, Renji. If you love someone, tell them. And I don't think you even realized that you loved Uryū until he got in trouble, did you? You were so focused on Ichigo; you didn't notice the others that care about him."

Renji stared at Yumichika and wondered if he was right. "I'm so confused," he muttered.

Chad looked up. "I'm not."

Renji looked at him. "Huh?"

"I know what I want. I want to tell Uryū and Ichigo that I care about them and I don't want them to leave my life. I want them to know that I love them. Even if their love is not returned, love should be freely given, even if it is not taken," Chad responded.

Renji nodded. "Yeah, okay, yeah," he said with a sigh. "I got it."

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 33 (Thursday) – 11:00 pm

Ichigo, Uryū – Kagema House, Recovery Room

Uryū had fallen asleep but came to wakefulness with a start when he heard the door. Ichigo had finally passed out the day before sometime during the night and he'd slept through the rest of the day. Uryū had been fed and taken to the bathroom throughout the day by other people, and he hadn't seen the Fullbringer doctor or the Fullbringer nurse again. He'd been drug down to the White Room at one point and questioned under threat of torture with the Lotus devices. He didn't break, though, telling them he'd thrown off the effects and come on his own. He blinked and looked up to see a light had been flipped on nearby. He looked over and saw a short boy with black hair coming into the room and looking around. He had a pale yellow kimono on and his hair was mussed all over his head.

He glanced over toward Ichigo and a smile crossed his face. It wasn't a real smile though; it was almost a sadistic grin. To Uryū's horror, he went over and grabbed Ichigo's face and dove down onto his mouth almost violently. Ichigo's body went ridged and he pulled at the shackles over his head and Uryū realized that the other one's hands had moved from Ichigo's face and he was tightening them around his neck. Uryū realized that he was fighting to breathe.

"Nakimushi!" Hinata yelled out as she came through the room. "Don't you dare kill him! He has a big day tomorrow, you sadistic little shit," she said as she stood at the end of the bed.

Nakimushi looked at her and frown then shook his head.

"Don't you act like I didn't see what you were doing. And yes, I know that you don't want to actually kill him, but you might, so no breath play, understand? Or I'll tell Kukoa you can't see him again."

Ichigo was still coughing and panting for breath and shaking off the sleep he'd been in. He looked over and saw Nakimushi and shook his head. He moved quickly and tried to kick out, instead only shoving Nakimushi off his feet to the floor with a thump.

"Azami, you know he's going to make you regret that," Hinata said with a sigh. "Oh well, if he damages you too much, I'll have Kagawa come back," she said and turned and left.

Nakimushi stood up and narrowed his eyes at Ichigo and then slapped him across the face hard enough that Uryū was sure he heard Ichigo's jaw pop. He looked over at Uryū and then back to Ichigo. He leaned down and grabbed the front of Ichigo's kimono and smiled at him. He pointed to Uryū and then to himself. Ichigo shook his head with wide eyes.

"Hey, leave him alone," Uryū said finally. "I don't care what you do, just leave him alone," Uryū growled out. He knew he was probably going to regret that, but he wasn't sure what else to do to keep him away from Ichigo.

Nakimushi snorted and then smiled. Ichigo shook his head and screamed silently as Nakimushi moved between their beds and sat on the bed by Uryū. He ran his hand over Uryū's head with a soft smile.

"You're a sick bastard," Uryū said. "They did the same thing to you! How can you hurt him! I bet he was even nice to you, too!"

Nakimushi nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself, then pointing to Ichigo, then himself. Uryū frowned. "What…you think he's yours?"

Nakimushi nodded, then stood up and moved to start undoing Uryū's slacks. "Oh, no, you stop that," Uryū said. He'd been ready for this eventuality, but he still didn't have to like it. Nakimushi stopped then nodded. He grinned and pointed to Ichigo and then to Uryū.

Ichigo shook his head and tried to kick him but he was on him faster than Ichigo could react. Now, though, Ichigo knew he was drugged and that was the main reason. Nakimushi snatched up both Ichigo's ankles and wrapped a cloth around them to bind them together and slid his hand down underneath him. Ichigo turned his head away and seemed to give up. It wasn't like he could get away from him tied like this. Uryū watched as he worked his fingers into him while he pressed Ichigo's knees down almost under his chin. He looked at Uryū and winked before kneeling up and sliding into Ichigo with a sharp snap of his hips. Uryū could tell Ichigo was more embarrassed by the fact Uryū was there than anything else. He tried to look away until Nakimushi was done with him. Nakimushi smiled and dropped Ichigo's feet down finally. It was odd, watching such a scene without any noise whatsoever from either of them save the sound of skin on skin and breath.

Nakimushi untied the cloth from Ichigo's ankles and turned his attention to Uryū. Ichigo tried to kick him as he got up. Uryū stared at Nakimushi. There was a glint in his eyes that left no doubt that he was sadistic and enjoyed this. He smiled at the Quincy, then pointed to himself, and back to Ichigo, but this time he punched his right fist into his left hand and made a twisting motion. Uryū stared at him.

"You are a sadistic little bastard," Uryū whispered as he looked away from him over to Ichigo. He looked back. "I will kill you for this," Uryū said with a growl to his voice. "By the pride of the Quincy, I will take you down."

Nakimushi grabbed onto Uryū's slacks and worked them down his hips a little ways and then flipped him to his stomach. Uryū gasped and felt both shoulders pull from the shackles twisting over his head. He felt his hands on his hips and he turned and stared at Ichigo. Ichigo had tears falling now as he looked at him. Uryū yelped when he felt Nakimushi breech him with his fingers. He grit his teeth together as he the sadistic little prick roughly pushed his fingers in and out of him. He didn't wait more, however. He just moved, pulling Uryū up to him as he slammed forward.

Uryū didn't want to scream, but he did as pain shot through him with intensity he hadn't imagined possible. He turned to see Ichigo still watching with a sad look and tears. Uryū bit down on his lip until it bled and just waited for it to be over. He huffed a sigh of relief when he felt him finish. He winced as he pulled out of him and pushed his slacks back over his ass. He panted into the bed for a long moment. He gasped as Nakimushi yanked his head up by his hair and smiled at him. Nakimushi licked his lips and smiled before he threw his head forward again. Uryū looked up as he disappeared out of the room. He locked eyes with Ichigo and Uryū had to wonder exactly how long the others were going to take to get them from this hell.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 34 (Friday) – 9:00 am

Yumichika, Ikkaku – Fujimoto 87

"Sweetie, you ready for this?" Yumichika asked as he practically floated toward the building.

Yumichika was wearing a frock, which was the only way to describe it. It was a long, loose dress with wide hakama underneath it. His hair was styled up nicely and he was clutching Ikkaku's hand in his and grinning. Ikkaku was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, looking every bit the part of the quiet boyfriend of the flamboyant gay boy.

"I suppose," he grumbled. "What's the game?"

"First we're going to try and get up to the eightieth floor, but I'm sure that won't pan out, since security is increased. Then we're going to head down to a realtor office, make the act of looking for an apartment, and when we're done, we head to the next part of the plan," Yumichika said.

"And that is?" Ikkaku said as they neared the doors.

"We're going into the bar up on the sixty third floor, and I'm going to acquire the attention of an unsavory character, who happens to be Love, and when I do, you intervene, and we make a big deal of it. Kensei will jump in the fray, chaos will ensue while the others start moving out of hiding," Yumichika repeated. "Honestly, how many times did we go over this?"

Ikkaku snorted. "I don't know. You promised to have a romp before bed last night and you fell asleep," he muttered.

"Aw, poor baby, I'll make it up to you, I promise," Yumichika said as he nearly skipped ahead of him.

9:30 am

Shinji, Lisa, Hiyori – Fujimoto 87

Shinji started out of a light doze as he leaned against the door of the broom closet when his wrist alarm beeped. He reached down and shook Lisa and Hiyori awake. "Time to get up and wait for the signal," he said with a yawn.

Lisa sighed. "What was the signal supposed to be?"

"They just said we'd know it when we got it. So we wait until then. The others should be in place by now, so it's just a matter of time," he said.

"The rest of them better not fuck up," Hiyori muttered.

"Don't worry, if all is working out, everyone should be in place, except Renji, Chad, and Adel. They should be safely tucked away in the apartment, where they're supposed to stay and listen once we start using Urahara's coms. Hachi is waiting up on the roof with Byakuya and Rangiku. Toshiro is on standby in the next building," Shinji said, crossing his fingers that these idiots didn't expect them to have so many involved.

10:00 am

Rukia – Fujimoto 87

Rukia crawled along the air vent easily, glancing down now and then. She was to get as far up as she could through the venting system, then try and breech the upper floors. She had ended up stuffing the bastard that tried to trade sex for a part in a film into his own closet. What he got for trying to stick his hand up her skirt. She came to the end of the air vent system. She wished she could get out of the Gigai, but it was the Gigai that was hiding her reiatsu. She was good at masking it, but these people were pretty good at detecting it. She was as far as she could go until the signal went off.

1:00 pm

Ichigo, Uryū – Recovery Room

Both Ichigo and Uryū were asleep when Ichigo felt someone shake him. He blinked and looked up at Kukoa.

"Ah, sweet Azami. Today is your special client. And I promised him a good, long experience with my best Kagema. That would be you, of course, my dear. But, when I informed him that we had a prisoner that we'd caught trying to break in, he was very excited, and looks forward to taking some time with your friend Uryū there as well," Kukoa's face was lit up like Ichigo had never seen it before.

Ichigo shook his head and looked over at Uryū who had sat up as he spoke. "I'm sorry, Azami, but you realize your friend is going to die when this client is done with him. And you're going to be the one to kill him."

Ichigo's eyes went wide. "Yes, yes, you will. Or I will go back to Karakura Town. And I will go to Kurosaki Clinic where there are two lovely teenage girls. They'll make very nice high dollar courtesans, don't you think?"

The terrified look on Ichigo's face said all that needed to be said. Uryū nodded to him. He understood. "Ichigo, it's okay. You'll have to do it," Uryū said quietly and smiled at him. "If I'm gonna die, I'd like it to mean something."

Kukoa turned to him. "You are so annoying. I'm wishing I had your voice removed when I caught you. No matter, he'll enjoy hearing you scream this afternoon. He's reserved you from three until midnight, dear Azami. So shall we go introduce your friend to how we prepare ourselves for this? At least Chisato was able to handle the electrolysis while you were recovering the last time, so you don't have to shave, but he will."

Uryū frowned and saw the look on Ichigo's face and wondered exactly what "prepare ourselves" meant. Ichigo didn't even try to fight Kukoa, and briefly Uryū wondered at that, then he remembered that he was a Fullbringer… He saw the lighter in his hand flipping open and closed as he held to Ichigo. Another guard came up and unhooked Uryū and lifted him to his feet. Uryū was about to try and bolt when Kukoa turned and gave him a smirk.

"I wouldn't, Quincy," he said as he held up the lighter and a stream of thin fire flicked out and wrapped around Ichigo's arm. Uryū watched it burn into his arm.

"Stop! Don't!" he gasped and Kukoa had the flame disappear.

"It isn't your life you're risking, Quincy. Remember that," he said as he led them into the large bathroom.

"Azami, why don't you instruct your friend?" Kukoa said and leaned back against the wall with a grin.

Ichigo stared at him and nodded. Uryū realized as soon as he turned around what he meant. How…degrading… he thought as he nodded.

"I got the idea, Ichi," he said as he glared at Kukoa. "I will destroy you for this," Uryū said as he followed with Ichigo showing him what all he had to do as Kukoa watched intently.

Kukoa dressed Ichigo in a fine white kimono covered in pink lotus blossoms. He smiled as he pinned back his hair and then proceeded to put light make up on him. He stepped back.

"Azami, you are so lovely," he said with a wistful look, then glanced at Uryū. "You…" he muttered as he turned and pulled out a grey yukata striped in darker blue for him. He didn't do any makeup on him though. "Too bad I'm going to have Azami kill you later. You would have made a lovely Kagema."

Kukoa nodded to the guard who grabbed Uryū and moved him ahead of them. Kukoa kept his hand on Ichigo's arm. Ichigo had thought humiliation could not get worse, until he had to share it with someone he knew and cared about. Kill Uryū? How could he do that…? He had no idea, but he would have to, he couldn't let the Yakuza get hold of Karin and Yuzu.

Kukoa opened the door into the largest of the rooms. It featured a large canopied bed fit with plenty anchor points for those that wanted them. There was a full cabinet filled with various sex toys and fetish gear. Ichigo had been in here once. He took Ichigo over to stand beside the bed.

"There, my dear. Head down, wait. Now, Quincy," Kukoa said with a smirk. "Bring me the hog tie restraints for him. Make sure we don't have any surprises…" he muttered as he flicked the lighter back and forth in his hand.

The guard went to a cabinet and returned with a set of restraints in black and silver chains. He bound Uryū's wrists behind him, then forced him to his knees. Another set of cuffs attached to his ankles, and then a chain slipped through to tighten it with ankles nearly to his wrists. Kukoa adjusted it so he was seated on his knees but couldn't move much beyond that. He nodded. He pulled out a ball gag and fitted it to him.

There was a knock and the door opened revealing one of the guards escorting a man in a suit accompanied by several other men in suits with sunglasses. Kukoa smiled at him, tilting his head to the side. Uryū looked up sharply as he sensed the incredible and sudden rise in Kukoa's reiatsu. He was seated behind him and he could see that he was clutching the lighter in his hand a constant halo of flames licked around his hand.

"Nakagawa-sama," he said and bowed slightly. "It is an honor to service you in my Kagema House."

The man looked older, perhaps in his fifties or more. He quickly removed the suit jacket and unbuttoned his cuffs and his shirt. One of the men behind him handed him a black yukata as he removed the shirt. Uryū saw that he had a solid covering of tattoos, with no breaks all over his upper body. His hair was trim and short, and he had wide set eyes. His nose was also wide and somewhat flat. He had eyes that Uryū found unsettling. He put on the yukata and then removed the suit pants he was wearing. One of the men behind him took all the items and folded them neatly then went to stand on one side of the door. Another man stood on the other.

"Yes, Kukoa. It seems that you have done well after the tragedy at the other House…you lost six?" Nakagawa asked as he seemed to be studiously ignoring both Ichigo and Uryū.

"Six, yes, Nakagawa-sama. However, I acquired four replacements that were worth ten of those lost. They made excellent Voiceless for your pleasures," he said with a smile.

Nakagawa moved over and grabbed Kukoa by the chin and turned his face toward him. "Quite an accomplishment for the mewling whore I took in as a child. I hear that you refuse to even employ sixteen and seventeen-year-old boys like the other Kagema Houses. Why is that? Why does it matter?"

Uryū saw Kukoa's fist tighten around the lighter. "I prefer to avoid the underage boys. A great many clients have expressed a preference not to breech that line of protocol."

"I think it is because you still hold it against us that you were thirteen when I acquired you," Nakagawa muttered as he patted Kukoa's face.

"That was the way of things then, Nakagawa-sama. I have changed with the times and the preferences of the clientele."

Uryū saw that despite the appearance of calm, Kukoa's reiatsu was at a dangerous high. He was sure that the others would be able to feel how powerful it was growing. Uryū wished that Ichigo could feel it as well. He bit his lip and watched, hoping that this man didn't lose it and kill them all.

"Hmm. Well, Kukoa, tell me of this prize of yours," he said and walked toward Ichigo.

Kukoa's reiatsu lowered somewhat and he unclenched his hand. He walked over to Ichigo. "Yes, this is Azami. He was quite spirited when he was acquired. I believe that he will be able to climb the ranks easily. He has an unbroken spirit no matter what tortures I've inflicted on him to test him. I believe that in a few years, he would be ready to take the lead on one of the Kagema Houses," he said and Uryū thought he heard pride in his voice.

"Ah, that is why you wish to present him to me," Nakagawa said with a smile. "You see him as your successor, and see yourself in that untamable spirit, yes?"

"I admit that is true, Nakagawa-sama. It took an entire retrieval team to acquire him, including breaking one's nose and another's ribs. In all, it was only his concern for the lure that distracted him during the take down. I had an acquaintance that informed me of this treat wandering around in the dark of night while they were moving a drug shipment outside of Tokyo, and just from the description, I had to have him." Kukoa lifted Ichigo's head up by pushing under his chin with his finger. Ichigo looked up. "He took to instruction quite well, of course, it took some time in in the White Room to encourage him to cooperate. And he is going to be easy to control in the long term. He has a pair of twin sisters four years younger than he is."

"Ah," Nakagawa said with a wide grin spreading over his thin lips. "You have learned so well, Kukoa. I cannot believe you are the same mewling child I drug out of the van."

Kukoa's hand clenched and his reiatsu spiked again. Uryū swallowed. "Yes, of course. Azami has been trained in several techniques that you favor. He has performed well under duress, and is very capable with his mouth. I trained him myself, of course."

"You always had the most talented mouth of any whore I had the pleasure of using," Nakagawa muttered. "I'll make use of all his talents before I leave, I assure you. My men have been quite busy and stressed with recent events. I'm sure they will enjoy some release as well."

Ichigo glanced around. His men? There were six other men in the room. This wasn't going to be a good evening for either of them…

"Of course, I shall leave you to your pleasures. Please enjoy Azami, and of course, our prisoner, who you may use as you wish. I'd ask not to kill him, as I've reserved that honor for Azami as a show of his loyalty to me," Kukoa said with a smile and backed away.

"Very well, be gone. I'll enjoy them however I will, Kukoa," Nakagawa said and waved him off.

Kukoa smiled as he turned around and left. Uryū barely heard him mutter, "Enjoy your last night, you fucking bastard…"

Uryū looked over and saw Ichigo flinch when the door slammed shut. Nakagawa smiled at Ichigo before he reached out and ran his hands over his hair. "Now, lovely. Show me how well you've been trained to use that mouth of yours…"

Uryū wanted to turn away but he found he was being drug toward the bed as Nakagawa sat down. Ichigo knelt down in front of him and looked as Uryū was unceremoniously dumped on the floor beside him.

"The Kagema is mine first, but feel free to enjoy that one," Nakagawa said to the three men who stood at the end of the bed. Ichigo wanted to stop them as the unhooked Uryū's hands from his ankles and drug him to the other side. "You, are you deafened as well as Voiceless?" Nakagawa said with a snarl. Ichigo nodded, concentrating on what he was doing and ignoring Uryū's muffled voice behind the gag.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Day 34 (Friday) – 5:00 pm

Yumichika, Ikkaku, Love, Kensei – 63rd Floor

"Oh, that must have hurt," Yumichika said as he flinched. Kensei had landed a hit that sent Ikkaku nearly through the nearest table. He looked up to see guards flooding in and starting to restrain the incensed men. Yumichika gasped and cried out, falling to the floor. Of course, he didn't really, he simply swallowed the soul candy and instructed the soul to continue the ruse. Ikkaku on the other side did the same, leaving his Gigai to wrestle with Kensei. He took off toward Yumichika and grabbed his hand as they sprinted into the hallway.

The intercom buzzed. "All available security and medical to the Cherry Blossom Bar on the 63rd Floor."

5:15 pm

Shinji, Lisa, Hiyori – 26th Floor

Shinji looked up as the intercom announced. "That's it, come on," he said as he opened the door to the closet and they headed out. "We need to watch out for…" Shinji started before energy arced out of the wall and slammed into him. He gasped and tumbled to the floor.

"Shinji!" Hiyori said and knelt beside him. "What the hell was that?"

"Drained…spiritual energy," Shinji muttered. "Only awake because the Gigai blocked some of it," he said as he stumbled to his feet. He put a finger to the com in his ear.

"Watch out, they're ready for us…traps laid that suck reiatsu," he said. "Confirm locations?" he asked nervously.

5:30 pm

Rukia – 79th Floor

"Seventy-nine," Rukia said into the com. "Blocked from higher access, however," she said.

"We've dropped our Gigai already," came Yumichika's voice. "Had to."

"Alright," she said and popped the soul candy and went down into the hall below. "Oh no," she muttered as she locked eyes with one of the Fullbringers.

"What have we here?" a man with a doctor's coat said with a smirk. "A new Shinigami other than the red headed one…interesting. Why the interest in one whore?" he said as he twirled a scalpel across his knuckles.

"Ichigo is my friend, and I'm going to get him out of this place!" she announced, summoning her Shikai and sending ice after him.

"Oh, what a cold woman!" Kagawa said with a smirk, flicking his wrist and smiling. "Clean Cut…"

Rukia gasped as she felt something sharp and fast slice through her midsection. She dropped to her knees to see a sudden flood of blood from a cut that had almost cut her from shoulder to hip. She gasped and heard someone yelling in the com. "What…" she muttered.

"See, I cut anything I want with this, like an extension of me. I can control how deep, how much, everything. And by the looks, you'll need medical attention very soon or…" Rukia blinked and saw Byakuya standing between her and the doctor. The doctor's arm was limp at his side where Byakuya had severed the tendons as he flashed past him.

Kagawa frowned in surprise and looked at Byakuya. "What the fuck are you?"

"Byakuya Kuchiki. Captain of the sixth division of the Gotei 13," he said as he stared at him.

"A captain? Never seen one of you bastards," Kagawa said as he reached over and took his scalpel from his fist that was quickly losing feeling. "But it won't help," he said as he moved to cut at him.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

5:40 pm

Orihime, Toshiro – Ground level

"Kuchiki-kun!" Orihime said with a gasp and took off to the building.

"Wait! Inoue!" Toshiro called. "She went to the building!" Toshiro said into his com.

"Stay in position, Hitsugaya-san," Urahara said. "There's not an immediate danger to her, she may be needed to help Rukia."

Orihime tried to look natural as she walked through the lobby and got on the elevator. She knew Rukia was on the 79th, so she pushed for that floor. The elevator, though, stopped at the 60th. She looked up and saw the emergency light was flashing. She sighed and stepped out into an utterly empty hallway. She was about to try to go back down when Ikkaku came hurtling through the ceiling above her. She looked up to see Yumichika leaping down to follow him. Both of them had their Shikai out and Yumichika landed and rolled, bleeding from several wounds.

A second later a sandy haired man dropped down easily and turned to look at Orihime. He smiled, bowing slightly. "Well, good day, my dear. Randal Mansford, at your service. Well, once I've dealt with these two," he muttered as he swept his hands out and the floor started rising and became shrapnel that Ikkaku was dodging.

"You won't escape my Ground Break!" he said as he ducked a swing from Ikkaku's spear. Orihime moved, tossing her shield in front of Yumichika just as a hail of boards and debris came at him. Randal turned and looked at her.

"My, the lady has some interesting abilities…" he said. "Now, be a good girl, and go about your business, this is man's work," he said with a smirk.

Yumichika took the chance to duck under and strike with the triple bladed weapon across his back. He gasped out and pulled a piece of a steel beam out of the wall slamming it into Yumichika's side. "Now that was not very nice!"

Ikkaku growled and got to his feet again, his weapon breaking into three pieces. Orihime moved over and got behind him. Yumichika wasn't getting up yet, though. She couldn't check on him yet though.

"I control anything from the earth! You can't defeat me!" Randal yelled and moved to start peeling metal from the walls again. Orihime gasped as a hail of nails came at them. She snapped the shield into existence and grimaced as she held it.

Suddenly, everything went quiet. Orihime blinked and looked up to see that Randal was lying unconscious. She looked up and saw a completely naked Yoruichi standing over him. She sighed and smiled at them. "Take care of Yumichika. There's still three more of these guys," she said and shifted back into her cat form and took off.

Orihime nodded and waited as Ikkaku dug Yumichika out of the debris. She started healing him and found that he wasn't too badly injured.

6:00 pm

Shinji, Lisa, Hiyori – 37th Floor

Shinji, Lisa, and Hiyori had navigated several of the traps and now they had reached the top of the stairwell they were in. They headed into the hall and Lisa stopped short as a blue haired man came wandering down the hall with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, are you lot lost?" he said with a smirk. "All's fine here," he said softly.

Lisa blinked. "All's fine, yeah," she muttered.

"Shit," Shinji said with a sigh, pulling his Zanpakutō. There was a minute when everything paused…then the world tilted.

6:10 pm

Renji, Chad, Adel, Vanessa, Urahara – Adel's Apartment

"They need help!" Renji said as he stood up.

Urahara shook his head. "They're fine, they've dropped three of the Fullbringers already."

"But not Kukoa!" Renji growled out. "He's the one that's going to burn the building! I'm going," he said as he grabbed Zabimaru and took off from the window. Chad sighed, looking at Urahara. Urahara sighed and nodded to him. He shrugged and was out the door. Adel paused and then shook his head, going after Chad. Urahara looked at Vanessa.

"These young ones," he said to her. "Give them a few thousand years and they might stop rushing headlong into danger for love…" he muttered, getting a strange look from Vanessa.

As soon as the three of them got into the lobby, there were at least ten men standing there with guns trained on them. Adel saw one of them going for an alarm behind the desk. He reached up and pulled the silken corset off and mouthed _Dome of Silence_ and everything went utterly silent around them. Understandably, the men were thrown off guard by the lack of sound. It was enough that Chad had laid them all out. Renji, however, was long gone, heading up, Ichigo's badge clutched in his hand. Chad wasn't far behind.

6:15 pm

Chad, Renji – 80th Floor

Chad forced the elevator doors open and they managed to get up to the 80th floor. There were seven floors still, but there was a lockdown of some sort keeping them from going up further. They started to run and were stopped by a woman standing in the middle of the hall. Her blond hair was loose and she had a wild look about her.

"You two again, you guys can't get enough, can you?" she said with a smirk. "I'll introduce myself. I'm Hinata Morgan. Pleasure. Now I'll show you…Whispers of Madness…" she said as she pulled the coin and began running it over her knuckles as she focused on Chad.

Chad felt something, but it was odd. It was like it was trying to do something…but nothing happened. She frowned.

"You cannot resist me! I will pull out your madness and use it against you!" she screamed.

Renji looked at the completely nonplussed Chad and took off, going through the levels where Chad couldn't. He needed to get to Ichigo as soon as he could.

Chad seemed to be immune to her powers, and instead of drawing out madness in others, she was suffering it herself. She screamed and then took off. Chad was about to go after her when there was a puff of air and the ash of Haineko flowed past him after her. Rangiku stepped beside him and smiled at him. "Got her."

7:00 pm

Ichigo, Uryū – 80th Floor

Uryū had completely lost all touch with reality for a while. He didn't know how long it had been, but it had all blurred together. He vaguely remembered the last thing before he passed out had been the head guy wanting to watch Uryū take Ichigo while he recovered his energy to fuck one of them again. Uryū hadn't thought it possible to do such a thing under duress, but the minute he'd locked his arms around Ichigo, he'd gripped him tighter than he ever had. It had been desperate and heated, and for a few minutes, both of them had been in a place where they were comforted, and everything else disappeared. Then, it ended and Uryū's head was ringing from one of them cuffing him in the back of the head and dragging Ichigo away from him. He blinked.

"So…you feel something for this prisoner…" Uryū heard Nakagawa say. He looked up and sat that one of them was holding Ichigo standing in front of him while Nakagawa looked at him. "Teach him what happens to whores that get attached to others…" he said and turned away.

Uryū flinched as one of them punched Ichigo in the stomach and proceeded to beat him until he couldn't stand anymore. Nakagawa smiled at Uryū and knelt down. "Raven, why don't you take a rest. I think I'm going to try some of those toys on your lover boy over there," he muttered.

Uryū was still gagged, but he screamed behind it. Then, though, he saw a flash of bright red. Renji?

Ichigo couldn't think as he fell to his hands and knees. There was blood dripping from his mouth as he sat there. He felt Nakagawa yank him to his feet and pull him toward the bed again. Then, the strangest thing happened and he was being pulled backward quickly by seemingly nothing. Then, he saw something hit the floor. His badge…what was his badge doing here…he dropped to his knees and grabbed it, a lick of black energy arcing from it toward him just as he heard Kukoa's voice behind him.

"Roaring Flames…"


	9. The Shaking of Worlds

Song Inspiration: Breathe - Prodigy

Chapter Nine

The Shaking of the Worlds

Renji hadn't known what to when he walked into the room. All he saw was pure and simple rage. He released a lot more Reiatsu than he intended as he dropped to his knees and sprung forward. There was a moment when his eyes took in the scene and then everything blurred in his mind. He flash stepped to where the old man was manhandling Ichigo toward the large bed that dominated the room. Ichigo was obviously not aware of much, and looked like he'd had the hell beaten out of him. He was wearing a kimono that was barely clinging to his shoulders. He turned toward where Renji stood and looked through him. At that moment, any planning Renji had done dissipated.

Renji had stepped beside him as the man threw him down and he looked over to see Uryū was piled in the center of the bed, his own eyes hazy and arms bound at his back. However, the old man was pawing at Ichigo at the moment telling him that he should be easier to handle now that he'd been knocked around a bit. Renji didn't think, he just grabbed Ichigo by the arm and pulled him back away from the very surprised man. He'd had Ichigo's badge in his hand, and it slipped in his fervor. He stopped on the other side of the room, letting him go and thinking he'd go get Uryū. Ichigo teetered and then dropped to his knees and picked up his badge. Renji saw the black energy start to arc and whip around him just in time to hear a voice he recognized.

"Roaring Flames," and a blast of extreme heat burst past him and directly into the surprised old man he'd just gotten Ichigo away from.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion for a moment. Renji dropped to the floor as it seemed the entire room exploded in flame. Simultaneously, an explosion of red and black Reiryoku that exuded intense Reiatsu exploded away from Ichigo, meeting the fire and extinguishing it. Renji turned and blinked as he saw Ichigo standing up, eyes closed, and swaying where he stood. His form had altered and it looked like he was wrapped in some kind of bone colored armor. The most interesting feature was the white armor went up the back of his head and came around his jaw, covering his face from just under his nose down over his chin.

Ichigo picked up his hands and stared at them, then looked up and locked eyes with Renji for a second before there was a scream. Ichigo looked up in time to be surprised as Kukoa ran him through with a sword that seemed to be made of fire. Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Ah, you didn't have your object, that's why you couldn't get your Fullbring. I almost feel bad for torturing you so much to try and get it. Almost, but I really enjoyed it," Kukoa whispered in his ear. "But it is mine now, Azami. And I'll use it to kill your annoying friends who have spent the day trying to get into my tower. They'll all burn with all of these bastards. Don't worry, you won't die. I can't lose my favorite whore."

Renji gasped and watched as Ichigo's transformation bled away and an arc of black energy went up the fire sword. Ichigo's hand went slack and the substitute badge fell and skidded away again.

"No!" Renji screamed and flew at him.

Kukoa blocked Zabimaru easily enough as he grinned at the incensed Shinigami. "What? You don't like that your boy had power that was so easily taken from him?"

"You bastard! You will die for what you've done to them!" Renji growled as he debated summoning his Bankai.

Kukoa laughed and drew back, pouring power into the weapon. Renji watched as the blade seemed to solidify inside the flames that coated it. The blade was black and Renji recognized the Reiryoku immediately. Renji didn't know if he could take him like this, and if he summoned his Bankai, he wasn't sure the results in here. He was being pressed hard, though.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," Renji heard and watched the shards of Byakuya's sword fly at Kukoa.

Renji didn't realize that Fullbringers had something like a flash step, but Kukoa was in front of him, then a green light emitted around him and he was behind Byakuya.

Byakuya, of course, was more than capable of blocking the blow with his sword as it reformed. He looked at Kukoa and shook his head. "Such power to be used toward such a dishonorable end," he said to him.

"Oh, pretty boy has something to say? You'd have made a good addition to my employees, I have to admit…" Kukoa said and was gone in a green flash again.

Nakagawa had been blasted backward onto the bed and was semi-conscious, but covered in burns. Uryū blinked slowly and looked up to see Ichigo had crumpled to the floor near where Byakuya and Renji were both engaged with Kukoa. He swallowed and rolled away, falling to the floor and panting for a long moment. He got his feet under him and stumbled toward Ichigo's prone form and fell to his knees beside him. He had no idea what he was going to do in his condition. He was barely conscious and very dizzy.

The wall behind them exploded and Renji looked up to see Chad had burst through it. He smirked but then gasped.

"Chad, be careful! He stole Ichigo's Fullbring!" he called and Chad grumbled under his breath before engaging him.

Renji moved around and realized that Byakuya had disengaged and disappeared, but a flood of Reiatsu ensued as he felt both Ikkaku and Toshiro announce their presence. To Renji's annoyance, though, they were hard pressed. It seemed with the additional, substantial power, of Ichigo's Fullbring, Kukoa had gained incredible speed and strength. Toshiro had barely gotten into the fight with his Bankai when Kukoa struck out, a whip like tendril of flames wrapping him up and instantly dissipated Hyonimaru's power, the fires simply burning away the ice. Toshiro dropped and then seemed to go completely out. Ikkaku growled and engaged him face to face as Renji tried to flank him, getting more than one burning cut in the process. He tried to wrap Zabimaru around him, but he was too fast, moving in the greenish light almost faster than Byakuya. Then there was a flash light lightning and Renji saw a nude Yoruichi standing up near the ceiling, her body covered in the flashing power.

"How many fucking people do I have to kill before you leave us alone?" Kukoa growled as he made a nearby chest of drawers, sending Ikkaku through the wall behind him. "Azami is my prodigy! I will not let any of you take him. I'll destroy this building and everyone in it, leaving nothing but ash! I will burn you all!" he screamed and moved, this time, slamming Uryū away and grabbing Ichigo by the arm.

Everyone stopped as Kukoa put the flaming sword up against Ichigo's exposed stomach. Ichigo's eyes went wide and he gasped as the flames started burning him. "I think it in your best interest to leave us alone," he said and they saw that he was going to use the high speed movement again, green light gathering at his feet, and this time with Ichigo.

Then, Byakuya was behind them, and there was a bright explosion as he impaled Ichigo through the back with a Zanpakutō. Renji gasped. They finished it…when he'd left, Kurotsuchi hadn't been half done with it.

Ichigo's eyes went wide as the world whited out for a second and then he had fallen to his knees, once again clad in a shihakuso, but different than the last one. There were black bands around his wrists, similar to Renji's markings, and around his throat. They looked almost like the cuffs and collar he had been wearing before he transformed this time. Instead of a regular obi like he used to have, though, Ichigo's belt was wide and folded, tying in the back in what looked like a _taiko musubi,_ or drum bow like usually was worn on kimonos. The hakama were wide and loose, more than usual flaring at the ankle. However, the most unusual feature was a black mask that formed over his face, covering his mouth and jaw. The mask extended up on either side of his face and a patch dropped down over his blinded right eye, covering it completely like his mouth. Zangetsu was a long and thin black blade with two points on one side and a point down near the tip on the other. There was a chain hanging from the pommel. It was black, and consisted of four links, the last one broken open. There was a massive pulse of Reiatsu that nearly sent Renji to his knees. It was Ichigo's, and Renji had never felt so happy to feel someone's power in his life.

Kukoa, having fallen away from Ichigo stood up and tried to steal his power once again in the same fashion. The blade pierced him and for a second Ichigo looked down then moved with more speed outside of Bankai than anyone had ever seen. All but Byakuya and Yoruichi lost Ichigo, but then he had Kukoa pinned to the wall, Zangetsu at his throat and staring at him.

"Azami!" Kukoa said with a gasp. He looked up as Byakuya walked up behind Ichigo.

"You cannot steal the power of a Shinigami. His power was still there. It only needed to be reactivated," Byakuya said.

From the fight, Kukoa was dripping blood from several wounds, and his flesh was burned to the point of blisters across his arms where the backlash from his own power had been pushed back at him. Ichigo tilted his head to the side then closed his eyes and there was a sound, almost a buzz. It repeated and even though his mouth didn't move, Ichigo's voice, though somewhat distorted and choppy, could be heard.

"I…won't…kill…you…"

Renji looked at him. "You're…you're manipulating your Reiryoku to create sound…" he said, actually quite impressed.

Ichigo looked at him and nodded. "Difficult…draining…" the voice said as he started to stumble back. Renji caught him before he fell backward blinking as he passed out.

Kukoa, though, found himself bound by a set of sealing handcuffs that Yoruichi put on him. "Kisuke Urahara wants a chance to see what he can do with you," she said and smirked as she disappeared in a flash step with him.

Chad went to Uryū and picked him up as Renji did the same with Ichigo. Renji looked at the others. "We'll meet at Adel's for the moment, get them looked at by Orihime and Vanessa," he said and flashed away.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Orihime tried to reject the damage done to both Uryū and Ichigo. Uryū, she could heal completely without a problem. But she found that whatever the Fullbringer had done to Ichigo was permanent. She couldn't fix his voice, either in Shinigami form or human form. Once they uncovered the right eye that had been covered, they realized that the eye was permanently colored gold in the iris and black in the sclera. She couldn't do anything with it either. It was as though the changes had been solidified either when he gained the Fullbring, when he lost it, or when his Shinigami powers were restored. They honestly had no idea how it had happened. Nothing would work. She sat in Adel's kitchen after she had finished and wept. Adel came in and sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You have an amazing ability," he said through his tablet.

"But…but I can't fix Kurosaki-kun's voice. None…none of this would have happened if we'd done something sooner…" she whispered.

Adel smiled at her. "Not having a voice is not the worst thing in the world."

She looked at him. "I could…probably fix your voice," she said with a soft smile.

Adel shook his head. "No, thank you for the offer, but this is who I am. And I'm sure your friend will feel similarly. Sometimes, losing something makes everything else make more sense. I will stay with him and help him if he would like."

"That may be a good idea," Urahara said as he sat down in the seat across from them. "I fear that him and Uryū are going to have a long road ahead. However, I would ask if you and your friend Vanessa would remain with them for a time? We've decided they should go to Soul Society, assuming they agree. Only Kukoa and the other four Fullbringers were captured, so the rest of the human Yakuza organization is still out there, and both Uryū and Ichigo are known as being part of it. They will try and find them again. So we'd ask if you would go with them for a time. And you may also be in danger due to your appearance there."

Adel nodded. "That would be fine," the tablet chirped. "Have they woken up yet?"

Urahara shook his head. "No, I've summoned Ichigo and Uryū's fathers, though. They should be here…"

Urahara looked up as both Ryūken and Isshin stepped down from the windowsill into Adel's apartment. Urahara stood up.

"Kurosaki-san, Ishida-san, come, if you will sit down, we can fill you in on everything that's occurred," Urahara said as both men came over and sat at the table without a word.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Renji and Chad sat on the floor opposite where both Ichigo and Uryū were laid on a couple of tatami mats and covered. They were waiting for Unohana to come across, as well as Ryūken and Isshin. Renji looked up as he felt the two fathers approach quickly. Renji looked at Chad nervously.

"What do you think they're going to say about this?" he asked.

"About this? You aren't meaning what happened to them in the Kagema House, are you?" Chad said understanding exactly what he was talking about.

Renji nodded as both men came into the room. Ryūken looked like he'd just left the hospital, and Isshin was wearing his typical loud clothing choices. The two men stood quietly for a moment then looked at Renji and Chad.

"I…wish I'd listened to you," Isshin said with a pained expression. "Urahara caught us up on what happened. He said Orihime was able to heal Uryū but Ichigo's voice and eye couldn't be rejected for some reason. She was upset about that part."

Isshin moved and knelt down beside his son. He was in his human form again, having returned to it when he'd passed out. Isshin reached out and ran a hand over his longer hair and swallowed thickly. Ryūken looked to be trying to decide how to approach his own son.

"Urahara said that Uryū went in to try and help," he said simply.

"We tried to dissuade him," Chad said. "He slipped out, though. I…we warned him that it was dangerous, but he said he had to try it. He had been made, though, because that Fullbringer that went to Karakura had altered his memory and remembered him."

Renji nodded, reaching in his pocket and pulling out Uryū's cross that he'd gotten from Kukoa when they brought him. He put it around Uryū's wrist. Both of them had been dressed in light yukatas that Adel had with him.

Uryū was the first to move after a few minutes while the others waited in silence. Ryūken, surprising himself, moved and knelt down beside him.

"Uryū?" he asked as his son's eyes fluttered and he moaned.

"I'm not dead…Ichigo, where's…" he said as he turned toward him to look and moved toward him to touch him, as if to see if he was real. "We're out…"

"Uryū…I…" Ryūken started and Uryū shook his head.

"I'm fine, just, we have to help him, they took his voice, I can't…and he tried to help me so hard, how could they…" he said, hands clutching at Ichigo's slack hand as he stared at him. "What he did…what he made me watch…"

Isshin swallowed thickly. "What…what happened in there, Uryū?" he said softly.

Uryū turned wide eyes on Isshin. "I can't…I can't…we…no…"

"We know what we found," Ryūken said softly. "Orihime told us what injuries you and Ichigo had…"

Uryū's face drained of all color. "I…Ichigo went through so much, I can't even describe it…he liked to…to use…torture devices…and…and Ichigo just…he'd given up fighting him. There wasn't a reason. And then that…that other one…the little one…I can't…he was obsessed…"

Renji moved toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. Uryū reacted before anyone could move, turning and punching out with a reiatsu laced fist, sending Renji flying backward away from him. He turned and stared at him with wide eyes as Renji groaned and rolled over. Uryū panted a moment.

"Sorry…I'm sorry…" he said.

"It's okay," Renji said. "I didn't think. I'm sorry."

Isshin looked at Uryū. "Uryū, we…we need to find out…"

Uryū shook his head. "Hmm, no," he said and gripped Ichigo's hand again. "No. I can't. Not…not now…" he said, swallowing thickly.

Isshin nodded and let Uryū sit there beside his son and wait for him to wake up. Ryūken knelt beside Uryū's mat and waited as well. They wall were waiting. It took a long half an hour almost before Ichigo finally stirred, wincing and rolling his head. The absence of sound was somewhat odd as he looked to be waking up. His eyes blinked slowly at first then he looked up and saw Uryū. He swallowed and reached up to put his hand on Uryū's face. He looked surprised to see him.

"Hey, we're okay, we're out…" Uryū said with a smile. "We're okay."

Ichigo's brows meshed and he shook his head. _Not okay_ , he mouthed at him.

"They have all the Fullbringers in custody," Renji said from where he sat at the wall. "But…we need to go to Soul Society. The…" he swallowed.

"The Yakuza might be a problem still," Isshin said.

Ichigo's head snapped to the side and he looked at his father. Isshin knelt down and nodded to him. "Hey, son."

Ichigo looked at him and nodded without having much of an expression. He just stared for a long time and looked over at Uryū and tilted his head to the side. He reached up and put his hand against Uryū's face. _You?_ He mouthed at him.

"Orihime healed me, I'm fine," he said with a smile as he threaded fingers through Ichigo's fingers. He looked up. "Why didn't she heal his voice?" he asked. "She should have healed his voice. He needs his voice."

"She tried," Isshin said from where he knelt still by the mats. "She said…whatever it was, when the Fullbring powers or when Kuchiki-taichou restored his powers, it made it permanent…she can't reject it. Adel said that he was going to help out with that since he doesn't have the ability to speak either…"

Ichigo looked at his father and smiled. _Adel?_

"Oh," Renji said and jumped up. "Adel, yeah…" he said and went to the door. "Hey, Adel, can you come in here?"

Adel came in and looked to see Ichigo. Ichigo sat up against the wall and tilted his head to the side. _You?_

Adel nodded and came over and sat down beside where Isshin was sitting. He took out his tablet. "I said I wanted to help you. Chad is my friend; he came here looking for you. I didn't know when I was at the Kagema House that you were the friend he was looking for. But when I understood, we tried to get into there. They stopped us, and we found out they were Fullbringers."

Ichigo nodded and motioned to the tablet. Adel handed it to him. "You're one. You, and Chad. I can tell now."

Adel nodded and Ichigo continued. "Okay. I'm glad to be out of there. Thank you," Ichigo tapped and handed it back to him.

Adel frowned and tapped. "I can help you, in more than one way," he said as he put the tablet down and started signing with his hands. Ichigo looked up at him surprised and nodded. Adel picked it up. "Lacking a voice is not the worst thing in the world."

Ichigo took the tablet and tapped. "I can use my reiatsu in soul form…but I have to work at it."

"I will help you," Adel tapped into the tablet with a smile at him. "I'm going to Soul Society with you for a while."

Ichigo looked at him and nodded. He took the tablet and paused, fingers hovering over it. He shook his head and handed it back Adel. He pulled his knees up under his chin and wrapped his arms around them, looking around at those in the room. Uryū crawled over next to him and grabbed his hand again. Ichigo looked at him and frowned at him.

"I'm sorry," Uryū said finally.

Ichigo shook his head in quite a bit of confusion. Uryū nodded. "I didn't come with Renji and Chad. I didn't…I didn't think they were right. I thought you'd run away because…because you didn't want to be around us anymore," he said and looked down. "I thought…I thought that we made you sad."

Ichigo tilted his head and shook his head, then looking over to where Renji and Chad were. He cocked his head again and gestured to them. Renji looked to Chad.

"You…you want to know what happened? How we found you?" Renji said finally.

Ichigo nodded, brows meshing for a moment. Isshin and Ryūken didn't say anything and waited to let Renji and Chad explain what happened in their own words.

"The morning after you were taken, your father called us all to see if you were at our houses," Chad began, glancing at Renji. "The police…they wouldn't do anything…" Ichigo nodded then and sighed. He had known that part. "So, Renji and Rukia came from Soul Society not long after, and we met at Urahara's with them."

Renji twisted his hands together. "I…I didn't think it was possible. Urahara-san…he said you'd told him you didn't know about staying in Karakura because of the memories, and they found your phone by that warehouse. And the police wouldn't do anything, but me and Chad, we didn't believe that you had ran off. So…we went to the warehouse. And we found what he thought was evidence that something had happened there, a bar with blood on it, guess you got hit in the head…"

Ichigo nodded, remembering vividly that part. He smirked though. He held up his hand with four fingers up. Renji smiled back. "Oh, it took four of them?"

Ichigo nodded. He shrugged then held up seven fingers and sighed. Renji shook his head. "Leave it to you to almost beat the shit out of your kidnappers," he muttered. Ichigo kind of smiled and put his chin back on his knees.

"Well, see, we got mad cuz the police didn't do anything, so Chad and I, we got together about it. I got leave from Kuchiki-taichou since things have been quiet. And we started looking around. We found…we found video of that little girl leading you off," he said with a sigh.

Ichigo snorted and shook his head. He reached toward Adel who handed him the tablet again. "She said she lived there and was too scared to walk home. It was stupid. I should have just called the police instead of taking her myself." He sighed and shook his head.

Isshin smiled. "That's not stupid, son, that's kind and something you would do for anyone."

"I should have known," the tablet said and Ichigo looked away. "There were too many. I thought they were after the little girl. I didn't think…why would anyone be after me? And then when she just stood there and watched while I tried to get away, I thought it was weird. Then when the guy hit me, and the other three came out around me…I realized I was the one, and she was there to lead me there. They called her 'Little Kie'."

Renji nodded, guessing how horrible that had been. Ichigo snorted and smiled. "They kept me tied up because I messed up one of the guy's noses really bad, and another one had some broken ribs. They weren't too happy about that, but Kukoa was."

Renji smiled at Chad. "Yeah, I don't doubt it. He told us…they kept you drugged up because you were such a pain in the ass."

Ichigo looked at them. "You met Kukoa before today?"

Renji nodded. "Yeah, lemme get through the story," Renji said smirking. "So, we found out that this guy named Kukoa was from Karakura and had been kidnapped by Yakuza near where you were taken. We found the guy that used to be his best friend as a kid. He…he said that Kukoa had become Yakuza. So…we looked around, and because that Kukoa had been a Kagema when his friend saw him the first time, we looked for Kagema Houses run by the Yakuza. There were three, and Kyoto was the biggest, so we came here first, and then we were going to Osaka and back to Tokyo. But Chad had his friend Adel here, so this was a good place to start," he said with a nod at the silent man.

Ichigo nodded, following so far. "So, we got here, and looked around and didn't find much, then we talked to Vanessa." Renji swallowed. "We were stupid. When Adel realized that he'd been to the Yakuza Kagema house, he told us and then realized he'd seen you there…we tried to get in. We didn't know they were Fullbringers yet. We thought they were humans and I went in, and we found out that we weren't ready for them. So we regrouped, and tried getting Karakura people. But they were all brainwashed by that one guy."

Uryū swallowed. "He just showed up and told us everything was fine, and we believed him and went about our lives. It even worked on Toshiro…" he said with a nod.

Ichigo nodded. Hando had been the one that did that, he remembered. Renji looked at Chad who wasn't speaking but nodded at him. "So, we got hold of Rukia, and she came through, and we realized that we were dealing with these Fullbringers. I guess…well…there had been another substitute Shinigami, like you, and he'd been a Fullbringer too. So they wanted to see what they were doing. Some others came through to help, and Orihime and Uryū came here. Then Uryū was really stupid and went in by himself."

"I just wanted to do something," Uryū said with a sigh. "I was ready for anything that happened, I told you that," Uryū shook his head. "I knew what would happen. At the best case I was going to get pulled in and made a Kagema, and that was fine, because I could get to Ichigo. Worst case they'd try and kill me, but I didn't think that would happen."

"We told you…" Renji nearly growled but stopped. "And after that we figured we needed to hurry up. So we put stuff in place, and launched an assault, hoping that we weren't too late. And then I got to the top and everything went crazy."

Ichigo nodded, still clutching Uryū's hand. He tapped into the tablet again. "Alright, and the Yakuza guy lived, and he's seen us, so he might try and come after us and our families if they can. So Soul Society is the only safe place." He handed the tablet back to Adel, not intending to talk about anything else.

Adel took it from him. "You said they took your voice when we talked," Adel tapped into it.

Ichigo shook his head and put his chin down on his knees again. Adel nodded and glanced at the others.

"We should go soon, so they can't find us here," Renji said as he looked between Uryū and Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded and sighed. Isshin and Ryūken exchanged a glance. Isshin spoke up.

"Son, do you want me to go with you or…"

Ichigo shook his head and looked at him. He pointed to him and mouthed, _Take care of Karin and Yuzu._ Isshin nodded slowly and stood up.

Ryūken looked at Uryū. "Uryū…"

Uryū glared at him. "You can go back to whatever you do. I don't need you going anywhere. I'll take care of things myself. Ichigo needs me, I don't need you," he said and turned away. Ichigo frowned at him and shook his head at him. He didn't _need_ anyone, really. He was fine.

Ryūken nodded and followed Isshin out. Renji glanced over at Chad. "I'll…get things set up to go back."

Renji left them and went into the next room where Ryūken and Isshin were talking with Urahara and Byakuya. He approached and nodded. "Kuchiki-taichou, I think they are ready whenever we wish to go back to Soul Society."

Byakuya nodded to Isshin and Ryūken. "I'll send the others back, it would be better if Renji took them over by themselves. I'll have Rukia set things up with Unohana-taichou."

Isshin and Ryūken exchanged a glance and then looked at Renji who was about to leave to go tell the others what the plan was. Isshin put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Renji," he said softly. "You'll take care of him, right? He's going to be trying to take the blame for everything, even though it wasn't his fault. He'll try and make it his fault. He's already doing it by saying he shouldn't have helped that little girl."

"Kurosaki-san, I will do everything I can to help him." He glanced to Ryūken. "And Uryū."

Ryūken sighed and looked at Isshin. "Uryū is reacting violently. He may become more irritable and aggressive, and considering that Ichigo seems to be doing the opposite, it might be best to keep them apart…"

Renji shook his head. "I…I mean, I get that, but they seem to have come to some sort of connection with each other, and…I don't think separating them right now will help, but I'll keep an eye on it," he said with a nod.

The two doctors exchanged looks. "Renji, I'm not sure that you're equipped to handle the PTSD that they're going to be suffering," Isshin said quietly. "They're both going to require a lot of patience and help, even when they push you away from them. They…both of them…have always had trouble with receiving help, and this is going to be bad for them. I still don't know what happened to Ichigo inside that place, so…"

Ryūken looked at Isshin. "We'll know soon, however. Urahara has the Fullbringers in his basement. We're going there next to meet him."

Renji looked at them. "I'll…I'll come across to find out what they say, so I can know what happened to them, but…I know what I saw when I went in there."

"I'll keep in contact," Isshin said. "If you have any trouble, please…tell me and I'll come across."

Renji nodded. "Of course," he said as they left. He looked over as Byakuya came back up beside him.

"Abarai-fukataichou, I would ask if you would take a special assignment when we return to Soul Society," Byakuya said. Renji turned and looked at him.

"Of course, Taichou. What is it?" he asked, stomach sinking a bit. He'd wanted to stay and help Ichigo and Uryū.

"I'm assigning you to our visitors for the duration of their time in Soul Society. I've requested a unit near the fourth to be prepared so that Kurosaki and Ishida will be near Unohana-taichou if needed, and I would request that you stay there to ensure there are no incidents while they are there," Byakuya said with a nod at him.

Renji nodded. "Of course, Taichou," He said as Byakuya walked off to get the others to go back.

Urahara put a hand on Renji's shoulder and he looked at him. "Abarai-kun, you will have to be patient, with both of them. They will be angry, and frustrated, and they may react poorly to things that seem innocuous. Remember that things may not be as they seem, and remember their personalities. And just…" Urahara smiled. "Don't be afraid to tell them the truth, Abarai-kun. About why you went to find them, and what made it so important. Especially for Ichigo. He thinks no one cared about him; that's why he is so surprised you came to find him."

Renji nodded and went back in to get everyone ready to go to Soul Society.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin Kurosaki was known as being a very patient man, almost too patient. Ryūken Ishida, however, never claimed such a thing. However, at the moment, both men were sitting in Urahara's Shoten awaiting the ex-taichou's return so they could interrogate the prisoners. It was somewhat unorthodox, because Byakuya was also waiting on the other side of the room with Soi Fon. Shinji and Yoruichi sat with the two fathers. Soul Society hadn't necessarily agreed to letting Urahara and his people see them first. However, when Isshin asked Byakuya to allow him this favor, he didn't deny him. It seemed that Byakuya carried more than a little respect both for the ex-captain as well as his son.

Urahara came in and looked around. "Are you sure that you wish to do this? I can do this without you two present," he said looking between Isshin and Ryūken.

"I'll be there for what he has to say about what he's done to my son," Ryūken said as he stood up.

Isshin nodded. "The best way to help my son is to know as much as I can. It is obvious, he isn't going to tell us yet, and neither is Uryū. Whatever Uryū witnessed in the short time he was there was enough to traumatize him severely."

Urahara nodded. "Alright," he said and led the four who were waiting downstairs. Byakuya and Soi Fon followed them to listen in. Byakuya had been given one of Kurotsuchi's devices to record everything in the basement.

The five Fullbringers were each confined in a sealing chamber that looked somewhat like a prison cell, with a seat and clear barriers all around it. All of them looked up when Urahara came in with the others.

Kukoa stood up, a smirk crossing his face. "Oh, we have visitors. What now? Going to question us some more?"

Urahara shook his head. "I've got no questions, these gentlemen, however, have a lot," he said as he leaned back against the stone wall.

Kukoa glanced between Isshin and Ryūken, then looked at Shinji who stood somewhat behind him. "Let me guess, are you somehow related to my sweet boy."

"My son was not your boy," Isshin said with a deadpan expression.

"Ooh, you're Azami's daddy? Tell me, did you teach him to fight? He was going to climb the ranks with his skills, once he stopped working on his back, of course," Kukoa said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"My son's name is not Azami. It is Ichigo," Isshin said and everyone in the room felt the rise in his reiatsu.

Kukoa tilted his head to the side. "Well, isn't that interesting. Hando said you were powerful…"

Isshin stepped out of Gigai and glared at him. "I am not to be trifled with."

Kukoa looked at Ryūken. "Let me guess. You're related to the Quincy boy."

Ryūken's expression didn't change as he simply stared at him. "So what is all this? I mean, you," he said pointing to Isshin. "You're one of those black outfit wearing freaks that kills the hollows. And you? Are you a Quincy like your son?"

Ryūken lifted his hand and the bracelet dangled out of his sleeve. Kukoa smiled at him. "You look like him. You know, if I'd come across him I would have done the same to him I did to Azami. He would have made a lovely Kagema. He did scream a lot though when I had Nakimushi spend some quality time with him…"

"Who is Nakimushi?" Isshin said with a deadly calm.

Kukoa smirked. "Nakimushi, he came in in the group I purchased that Azami was in. Him, Hinto, Azami, and Utahime. Of course, those are the names I gave them. When I take them in, they leave their past selves behind. They're mine. Well, ours. Once you're owned by the Yakuza, there's no leaving. And they are owned by the Yakuza. Both of them. No matter what you do, where you take them, they'll come for them. It doesn't matter if I'm gone or not."

"Where they're going, the human world will not be able to find them," Isshin said. "In case you haven't realized, we're Shinigami."

"Death gods? Really?" the woman beside him said. "That's funny…" she said. "You know, I've never had to experience of trying to use my abilities on a Death God. Perhaps I should try from here…"

She snorted. "Fuck you all," she muttered and crossed her legs, looking away from them.

"You can't use your Fullbring in there," Urahara said from the wall. "I've studied our friend Chad for a long time. I know about Fullbrings very well, even if I didn't know what he was at the time."

"My Fullbring is stronger than you can imagine now that I have Azami's power. You won't keep me in this cage for long," Kukoa said with confidence.

Urahara shook his head. "No, it won't matter where we're going. We've put stronger beings then you away. The Maggot's Nest will suffice for you, I'm thinking."

"What about us?" The one with blue hair said that had altered memories. "Huh?"

"The Head Captain of the Shinigami's Gotei 13 will determine the fates of all of you, however, Kukoa's power is enough that he will likely be placed in the Maggot's Nest," Byakuya said from near where Urahara stood.

Kukoa smiled. "It doesn't matter what you do. You won't fix what I've broken. Azami is a Kagema, and he always will be. I spent over a month grooming him into the ideal whore. You want to know what I did to your son? You want to know what he went through, do you?" Isshin's fists balled despite how hard he tried not to show it.

"I mean, the raven-haired boy is easy. He tried to get in, I had Nakimushi fuck Azami while he watched, then Nakimushi decided that he wanted to enjoy someone that could scream for him. He is a sadistic little shit; I never would have imagined. But Azami showed him such kindness, and Nakimushi became obsessed. Then, when the boss came by, the man I hated more than anyone else in this world, I left the raven with him. I'm not sure what happened in there. But he had six of his men there. So, I imagine he got used well. I told Azami he was going to kill the Quincy. The Quincy boy was all 'oh you can kill me if you have to'. Because of course, I used his sisters against him."

"What do you know about my daughters?" Isshin said as his reiatsu rose enough to be felt easily even inside the cells.

"Oh, I know all about them, Dr. Kurosaki. Kurosaki Clinic here in Karakura Town. Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki. We're Yakuza, remember? We know everything about all the people we traffic in. How do you think we managed to put off the police?" Kukoa sat down and crossed his ankles. "But you know, this is fun. So, you want to hear exactly what happened to him, do you? I don't think you do."

Isshin narrowed his eyes at him. "I think you need to tell me."

Kukoa nodded. "Well, see first we break them in. So Azami's first was a rather particular client. He had been on our wait list for a long time, waiting for a suitable Kagema. The others…they were so delicate; they couldn't handle him. So, when Azami presented me with a strong person that could stand what he wanted. I don't have many of the higher ups in the Yakuza who make a request for 'violent rape of a virgin'. But, we must satisfy the clients," he said with a sigh. "I felt terrible, after he left. Poor Azami, he had to stay in our medical for a few days until he healed enough." He looked at Isshin who was clutching his fists tightly. "But no rest for long for my boys. Then…he tried to run away from me. He figured out how to avoid the sedative, and made a run. He couldn't get out. After that he had to go to the White Room."

"White Room?" Ryūken said, realizing that at this point Isshin wasn't capable of saying anything.

"Hmm, yes, I made it. It was windowless, all the walls, ceiling, and floor painted white. All the harnesses and suspension rigs, and poles are white. All white. Maddening, really. And I introduced him to my love of torture devices. See, they fascinate me, even the deadly ones. So, I let Azami have some nice torture positions, tying in a shrimp tie, a backward hanging, that sort of thing." Kukoa smirked. "Then I introduced him to the Cradle. See in the medial times, there was this thing called a Judas cradle. It was a pyramid that they impaled people on, ripping open the orifice it was placed in. I liked the idea, so I modified it. Rounded, but still something that widened up to around four inches in diameter. Took him most the day before he ended up sliding all the way down on it. Then I made him cum for me like that, because whores should be able to orgasm no matter what their pain," Kukoa smirked.

"Then, I trained him. Taught him all the techniques of a whore. How to suck cock, how to stand a hard throat fucking, showing the client how special they are…seduction, body language. You know how that is," Kukoa said with a smirk. "Of course, I demonstrated for him, and then before I let him out of the White Room, I made him show me what he learned. Then he went to the floor to service clients. He was good, except some reported him not being enthusiastic enough. One reminder of returning to the White Room set him straight, though."

"How long was he on 'the floor'?" Ryūken said, feeling that Isshin's reiatsu was going high enough to become uncomfortable to him.

"Nearly two weeks. He was good, highly demanded, because Voiceless are charged double. I usually don't put them on the floor, they usually have scheduled clients, but Azami had to learn his place. So, you know. Anywhere from six to ten clients a day. He got very used to his job," he said with a smirk.

Ryūken narrowed his eyes at him. "And then what did you do to him?"

"The boy jumped in between a client and another Kagema; the clients were getting a little rough with him. So, we gave him to them. When they had a fun time with him, I drug him back to the White Room for attacking customers. And then the raven showed up. So, I made him watch when I punished Azami with my Lotuses. They're nice little devices, look like flowers, and I twist a screw and they open, petals pushing outward. One in his mouth open until it was dripping blood, and the other up his ass. Oh, the Quincy was mortified, I must say, to watch it. I had to have Kagawa over there use his skills to heal soft tissue for that. Then Nakimushi came to see them, and then they went to visit with the boss. And well, you know the rest."

Isshin swallowed thickly and Ryūken knew that he was a hair's breadth from losing it on the man in the cell. "You are the worst sort of human that exists."

"No, there are far worse than me," he said.

"I don't think so. You were kidnapped, forced into prostitution as a child, and then, instead of protecting others, you become what you hated so much. That, more than anything, makes you abhorrent," Byakuya said as he approached.

Kukoa smiled at him. "Doesn't matter what you think."

Isshin swallowed and looked at Byakuya. "Put him so deep in the Maggot's Nest that he never sees light again," he whispered as he turned, returning to his Gigai and leaving with Ryūken behind him.


	10. Not So Easy

Chapter Ten

Not So Easy

Passing into Soul Society after so long felt incredibly strange to Ichigo. He was in his soul form again, having left his human body with Urahara. He felt odd to be back like a Shinigami after believe he never would be again. He felt pressure on his hand and he realized that he was clutching Uryū's hand tightly in his. He swallowed hard as they exited out of the senkaimon into the Seireitei. He looked around and saw that Adel was utterly fascinated as they came out. Renji and Chad had led them through, and Byakuya had requested that the area be cleared so they weren't overwhelmed by too many people.

Renji led them to the fourth division. "So, the plan is that we're going to stay in one of the long-term care houses that they have. There's only a couple, and honestly, they're rarely used. We'll go check in with Unohana-taichou and then she'll take us back to the unit we're staying at."

Ichigo and Uryū both nodded but neither spoke as they went into the fourth division and headed toward Unohana's office.

Unohana looked up and smiled at them as they came in. She came around and nodded at Renji, Chad, and Adel. Vanessa had decided that she couldn't take time off from her INTERPOL position, and she would be far more useful keeping an eye on the Yakuza than coming to Soul Society. She seemed fascinated by the idea, though. She did regret not being able to go.

"Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun," she said with a soft smile. "Come, let me show you to the house that you will be using. There are four sleeping quarters to use however you like, a small kitchen, and an interior bath. There's a large common area as well," she said as they left from a back way from the Fourth.

They came to a non-descript looking building that was inside a fenced area. There was another one behind it, similarly built. She opened the gate with a pulse of kido and led them into the large house.

Renji and Chad nodded and glanced at the other two and Adel. "Um, how do we want to divide the rooms? Adel should have his own, but I didn't know how you two wanted to split up the rest of us. I'll leave it to you," Renji said somewhat nervously. "If we want everyone alone, I can stay in the living area, that's not a problem."

Uryū glanced at Ichigo and back to Renji. "I think we should stay in the same room."

Ichigo didn't say anything, just continued to look around the room and clutch Uryū's hand still. Uryū, however, seemed to be clutching onto Ichigo as much as Ichigo was holding to him. They were offering each other mutual support in a fashion.

Renji nodded. "Um, alright, Chad and I can take the two rooms on either side if that's okay? So, if you need something, we'll be here."

Ichigo nodded and let Uryū lead him into the center room. He put Zangetsu on the weapon rack and looked out the window. Uryū watched him carefully. Uryū had come in his regular clothes instead of one of his tailored outfits with the capes on it. The fact that he hadn't bothered wanting anything more was concerning to those that knew him.

Renji looked at Chad. "I'll be back, I've got to check in with Kuchiki-taichou and do a few things," he said with a nod.

"We'll be fine here," Chad said.

Unohana looked at Chad and Chad left the room, shutting the door behind him. She then looked at Ichigo and Uryū.

"Ichigo, show me the speech you are doing using your spiritual energy," she said.

Ichigo turned and nodded. "It…" he started and there was a buzz for a second. "It isn't…easy to…main…" Another buzzing sound. "Maintain."

She nodded and ran her hands around him. "I think that given some practice, you will learn how to modulate these sounds. You are creating a similar effect with a construct of pure spiritual energy that is like the vocal chords you no longer have. Though, since they are spiritual in nature, there is no actual breath passing through them, meaning you do not have to physically speak. Fascinating. Considering your ample spiritual energy reserves, you should have no trouble maintaining it once you master it. Let me see the eye," she said as she stepped forward.

Ichigo reached up and pulled off the mask and eye covering and put them on the side. She looked at it. "In this state, soul form, can you see anything from this eye?" she asked.

Ichigo shook his head. "It…it's like I can but…I can't."

"Close the other eye," she said and Ichigo did so.

She stepped back. Ichigo felt the world tip and he shook his head for a moment. "Weird," he said. "It…it…looks…weird."

"I thought so…" she said as she placed her hands over his eye and concentrated. Uryū hadn't seen his eye in soul form, just the whited-out version in his human form.

"Why is it like that?" he asked as he got a good look. His eye was the black sclera and gold iris.

"Like…what?" Ichigo managed with a slight sway to his body afterward.

"It's black and gold, like under your mask," Uryū said as he moved to steady him.

Unohana stepped back. "I am unsure what is happening with it. It would seem that it is some extension of the Vizard…" she said. "We will monitor it. I need to know if anything changes. For now, you both should rest some, the ambient reishi should help both of you in your recovery. I'll leave instructions for no one to enter unless you specifically allow them."

Ichigo nodded and lowered himself onto the mat. He glanced down at the sides of his hakama where they were split open almost to his knee from under the wide obi. Odd, he thought, the way his uniform changed every time something happened to his power. He sighed and felt himself sinking into his inner world.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The inner world was water. There was nothing else to be seen. Top to bottom, the place was filled with water. There were no buildings, simply nothing. Ichigo felt himself floating but then he gasped as he felt arms around him. He smiled, feeling Shiro against him. His sensation was never more welcome.

"King," Shiro said and nuzzled into Ichigo's neck from behind. "Can we please get rid of the water…"

"I'll try," he said and Ichigo was pleased that in here he could speak normally. "I promise, Shiro. I'll try."

Zangetsu spoke next. "Ichigo, you must not blame yourself. I sense it already. You are attempting to put blame for what has occurred on yourself."

"If I had been stronger," Ichigo started, clutching Shiro's white hands to his chest.

"I've been here all along, King. I saw everything. You were strong, a hell of a lot stronger than anyone else could have been," Shiro said as he sighed into Ichigo's hair. "I've got a present for you, too."

Ichigo turned in Shiro's grip and looked at him. "What?"

Shiro had the reversed Zangetsu on his back, but there was something at his hip. He smiled and popped open what looked like a fan, but it was made of metal and the ribs were sharp and protruding. Ichigo thought he remembered that there were fans Samurai used to carried, _gunsen_ fans, war fans. "Zangetsu, well, you've figured out that I'm Zangetsu, right King?" he asked with a grin.

"I…think I've always known."

"And I am your mother's powers, the Quincy in your blood," Zangetsu said with a nod. "So that, that is me. I am your protection, your mother's will. And Shiro, as you call him, is your power, and your fury," he said with a smile. Ichigo didn't think that he'd ever seen the old man smile. Now, though, he began to understand so many things.

He closed his eyes and in the outside world, he wrapped arms around the nearest body, entwining to seek comfort. Uryū, though he was reluctant to admit it, needed comfort as badly as Ichigo did. Sleep claimed them both, and when Chad checked on them sometime later, he found them enmeshed in each other's limbs. He found a blanket and covered them, smiling fondly as Ichigo had buried his head in Uryū's chest. Uryū's arms had wrapped around Ichigo's shoulders, and his leg had draped over Ichigo's. It was as though Uryū had taken on the position to protect Ichigo from the world. Chad hoped that they would let Renji and him help. At least, though, they seemed to be finding comfort in each other's presence.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"I want to talk to him," Rukia said with a pouty look on her face.

Renji had just gotten back from the meeting with Unohana and Byakuya and he was shaken, to say the least. He sighed. "I don't know if that's a good thing," he said as he came to the gate. He'd been gone almost eight hours already. Much longer than he'd liked. However, Unohana had wanted to hear the entirety of the recording of the interrogation of the Fullbringers. It had almost been too much for Renji to listen to, however. He had, though. And he needed Chad to go listen as well. To say that their work was cut out for them was an understatement.

"He's my friend, too," Rukia said as she followed him.

Renji didn't know why he pretended to argue with her. He knew she'd come in to see Ichigo and Uryū. Though, mostly Ichigo. Renji found that Adel was sitting in the common area reading a book from their libraries, probably a history of Soul Society. Rukia nodded to him as he went over to the room where Ichigo and Uryū had taken. He rapped at the door. Chad, it seemed, was sleeping. He supposed that made sense.

Uryū opened the door and blinked blearily at him. "What is it?"

"Just wanted to see how you two were doing, and Rukia was wanting to check in," he said with a soft smile.

Uryū nodded. "Hmm, okay, lemme see if Ichigo wants to come out," he said and closed the door again. Renji led Rukia into the common area and they sat down on near Adel. A few minutes later a bleary eyed looking Ichigo was being led by the hand into the room. He wasn't wearing the mask or the patch, and had changed into a yukata in plain blue, so his odd colored eye was rather obvious as they looked at him.

"Your eye," Rukia said as she looked at him.

Ichigo had no idea why it happened. He looked up and the person he saw standing there wasn't Rukia. It was Nakimushi, dark hair framing his petite face, and eyes looking at him with something like possession. The sound he created was almost deafening, and honestly, he didn't know exactly how he'd done it. Uryū gasped, dropping to his knees and covering his ears. The surge of his reiatsu was almost palatable in the room and he seemed to blank out for a second.

"Ichigo!" he heard and he realized he was on his knees where he'd been standing. His head was spinning madly and he was trying to get his ears working right again. He couldn't quite do it. He felt hands, Uryū's hands, he knew, move him to sit down and then he was looking up at Unohana again. She moved her hand in front of him and he jerked back from the motion blinking at her.

"Ichigo? You there?" she asked softly.

He nodded, rubbing his ears. He pulled his hand back with a little blood on his fingers where it had leaked down from his ears. He frowned.

"Hold on," she said and he felt the healing kido and he could hear again clearly without the buzzing sound. He watched as she went to the others and did the same thing. He saw that Uryū's ears had bled too.

"Okay," she said and looked at him. "What was that?"

Ichigo shook his head and shrugged. He concentrated and managed to force the words… "Don't…know…" into existence around him.

Unohana nodded and cast a diagnostic on him. She stepped back and glanced over at the others. "What happened before the noise?"

"Nothing, him and Uryū came out of their room to see us," Renji said, looking at Rukia.

"I had just gotten here," Rukia said and Ichigo's head snapped up, eyes locking on her for a second before he winced and turned away, putting hands over his eyes.

Uryū stiffened beside him. "Oh," he said, dropping to his knees in front of him. "Hey, I get it," he said, pulling Ichigo's hands away from his face. He looked up and frowned at him. "I see it. I see now, okay? Come on," he said and grabbed his hand. He took him back to the bedroom and returned.

"You know what happened?" Unohana said.

"Um, yeah, I mean, I didn't realize it but I'm not in as bad a position as he is," he started and sighed. "Rukia…kinda…well, she looks like Nakimushi."

"Nakimushi?" Rukia said, glancing between them. "Who is that?"

"Look, I…I'm…I can't talk about it, just…ask him," Uryū said and shook his head. "I'm…gonna make sure Ichigo's okay," he said and spun on his heels and disappeared.

Renji dropped to the futon and stared after them. "Nakimushi was the one that was obsessed with Ichigo. He was another Voiceless Kagema that Ichigo had been kind to, but he was sadistic and took every chance he could to get his hands on Ichigo… and he went to him while Uryū and him were together. He made Uryū watch as he went after Ichigo, then he…he made Ichigo watch as he did the same thing to Uryū."

Unohana nodded. "So people matching the profile of this man trigger panic, intense panic, obviously. I'd exercise caution. Whatever that noise was, it could damage hearing. I'll have to study what he's doing with sounds, but if this becomes a trend, we may have to find some way to dampen it. At least until he is somewhat better able to control it. Right now, he is like a child learning to speak, so random noises and practice sounds will happen. I'm unsure what he will be able to do with this later, but it may become usable as a weapon…" she said and sighed. "The amount of trauma both have experienced is extreme. Just be careful."

She left them, and for a long moment they were silent. "So what else should we try to get ahead of that could cause problems for them?" Rukia said finally.

Renji sighed. "The Rukongai Kagema houses, obviously. We should try and keep them both out of the Rukongai altogether. There's some down there that don't play by the rules."

"What else would bother them?" Rukia asked, looking toward Adel.

Adel pulled the tablet out. "I would say that it is hard to say. Other than the Nakimushi boy, any client could resemble anyone else that Ichigo dealt with. I'd be most worried about anyone resembling his first client since it had been violent from what you heard. Other than that, it will be rather hit and miss as to what will cause panic and anxiety."

"You seem to know about this stuff," Renji said with a sigh.

"I wish I did not," Adel tapped with a deep sigh.

A long silence ensued and Rukia ended up leaving. Her heart ached in a way she didn't expect, and she had to go talk to someone who could help her understand Ichigo more. She stopped and got permission to leave from Ukitake, and headed to the World of the Living to talk to Orihime.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The ramen place was busy as usual. The patrons milled about, got their food, and then would sit and chat over ramen and sake. Soul Society was like all places, of course. When something major happened, rumors went around like wildfire. So, there was nothing unusual about the current chatter going about all of Soul Society.

"You're serious? The one that defeated Aizen?" a member of the fifth said to his table mate.

"Yeah, I heard that he's over in one of the fourth's long term units."

"Wait, don't they use those for people that are, you know, losing their mind or dying slow like?" asked a member of the third nearby.

"Sometimes," commented a member of the sixth. "But, I overheard something interesting the other day. Abarai-Fuku taichou has been absent, and we asked where he was. We got told by the third seat that he was doing special duties for now. Well, I saw him going into the unit by the fourth the other day."

"Isn't Abarai-Fuku taichou friends with the Ryoku?"

"Yeah, yeah, good friends, if you know what I mean," muttered someone from the eleventh under the influence of way too much sake.

"What? No!"

"Abarai-fuku taichou hasn't been down to Lin's House in a while," said another sixth officer. "He used to go down there all the time a couple years ago."

"Oh, he liked the Kagema huh?"

"Well, he did, but ever since that whole thing when the Ryoku came into the Seireitei, he hasn't gone down there," remarked a twelfth member. "But about the one in the fourth, I heard Kurotsuchi-taichou complaining that he wished he could get his hands on him the substitute Shinigami. Something about him being unique. He was complaining because I guess the Sou Taichou told him Kurosaki-san is 'too traumatized' by recent events. He was really snarky about it, too."

"Oh, now that makes what I heard make more sense," the second person from the sixth said with a grin. "Something about he was pulled out of a Kagema house in the World of the Living…"

"So he's a Kagema?" gasped one of the fourth members sitting nearby.

"Not by choice, from what I heard," quipped the drunken eleventh member.

"How do you know so much?" asked one of the sixths.

The eleventh member snorted. "Cuz, Zaraki-taichou was bitching a blue streak that he couldn't fight him anytime soon until he got over being forced into being a Kagema, and getting tortured and shit. He doesn't like that bullshit. Ain't right, you know, to put a warrior in that position…" he said and knocked back another cup.

A couple of the members glanced at each other with a look that seemed out of place for the discussion. "So, he got trained like they do down at Lin's?" one asked.

"Oh, from what I hear, he got nabbed by the big crime organization…" one of the sixths said. "Some messed up stuff, too, like they took his voice somehow."

People kept gossiping and chatting as people came and went. New information came up and was shared. Some of it was wrong, some of it was right, depending on how many times the story had been passed around. No one thought anything of it, after all, there weren't a lot of exciting events going on lately.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo stood in the kitchen and glared at the stove. He was going to figure this out. He couldn't do much else, but he'd grown up watching Yuzu do amazing things in the kitchen. He could do them too. However, he lacked a bunch of things if he was going to try and make something like he wanted to make. He needed ingredients and he needed recipe books. He turned and started to call for Renji and then closed his mouth. He sighed and chewed his lip for a moment. He guessed he could go to the supply building and pick up stuff. He knew that they provided for the Shinigami, so if he went there they should get him what he needed. He couldn't depend on his "voice" though. He rummaged around in the kitchen until he found some paper and began jotting things down he wanted to get. In a way, it was nice to think about anything except what he'd had happen recently.

He sighed and smiled at the list. He went back to the room he was sharing with Uryū and stopped to see he was curled on his side clutching the pillow. He'd kicked the blanket away though, so Ichigo put it back on him. He sighed and watched him sleep for a while. He just wanted to say something to make Uryū feel better, but he wasn't sure how to do that. He thought maybe he could make some sweets for him. Yeah, he thought. That sounded like a good idea.

He dressed in his shihakuso, putting back the mask and eye patch, and finding the fan lying with Zangetsu. His hand hovered over the long blade and he picked up the fan. He clipped it to a ring on the side of the wide obi and headed out to go to the supply area.

He stepped out of the door and then the gate. Once outside he looked around and despite everything, he felt happy to be in Soul Society again. He smiled a bit under the mask and headed toward the supply. He got a few looks along the way, but then Ichigo was one of the people that most Shinigami knew of. Mostly, he was known as the one that brought Aizen down. Of course, now, the rumors that were going around had little to do with Aizen's downfall. He got to the supply and found it staffed and he went to the counter. He passed the list over to the tall brown haired Shinigami behind the counter.

"What is this?" he asked as he took the list. "Oh, this is a list of supplies. Right?" he said and looked up at Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded at him. The other Shinigami looked at him for a long moment then went into the back for a while. He came back out with two large bags.

"So, these are the only cookbooks I had back there," he said and pushed three over the counter at Ichigo.

Ichigo picked up the first. It was Indian foods. The second was baking cakes and sweets. Ichigo smiled at the third. This one was for making candies and fudges. He smiled and pointed to the paper and at the one behind the counter.

"That's everything on there," he said to Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. He took the paper and mimicked the action of writing for a second. "Oh, you want to write something down? Something else you want?"

Ichigo nodded. He shook his head. "I don't have anything…"

Ichigo sighed, then grabbed one of the cookbooks and flipped through it until he came to a recipe. He turned it around and pointed at the ingredient he was needing. The other Shinigami nodded. "Ah, cocoa. Sorry, I just don't keep writing tools up here. They'd just walk away," he said with a smirk as he went back to find the cocoa.

Ichigo growled soundlessly. He didn't like not being able to communicate. He could try to talk with the vocal thing, but after the horrible screeching incident, he was a little scared of it. Still, he should try at least.

The supply master put a container into the bag and nodded at him. Ichigo closed his eyes and concentrated. First the slight high pitched buzz then it flowed into his words. "Thank…you…" he managed and opened his eyes. The supply master looked at him curiously. Ichigo picked up the bags and headed back to the fourth. He was frustrated at his lack of communication ability but he was feeling a bit better. He nearly ran into a pair of Shinigami who were standing conspicuously in the middle of the road.

Ichigo looked at them and they stared back at him. One smiled. "So it is true. You even got one of those bows on your uniform. How cute," he said with a smirk.

Ichigo frowned and shook his head, hoping that he would get the idea that he wasn't interested in chatting. The other one moved around Ichigo's other side. Immediately, Ichigo's reiatsu spiked as his heartrate shot up. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears.

"We thought they were making shit up, that somehow, the super powerful Shinigami that put an end to Aizen, managed weak and powerless, and letting strange men fuck him."

Ichigo's reiatsu spiked again, this time, though, a low droning buzz began around him. The two Shinigami in front of him seemed to not notice it, however. Ichigo shifted his bags to his left hand and unsnapped the fan with his right. He narrowed his eyes at the two others.

"What? You don't like hearing the truth? You know, I don't know why you're up here. You should be down Rukongai at Lin's house or that seedy brothel down in the lower district where anything goes. I also heard they made you work on your back. But looking at you, you don't look the sort that didn't enjoy it," the first one was glaring at him.

Ichigo wanted to bolt, but at the same time he wanted to stand up for himself. He grimaced and snapped the fan open beside him.

"Look, he's even got a little fan," the second smirked.

Ichigo flicked his wrist at him, a slight buzzing blip snapping as tendrils of energy shot out from each of the pointed tips of the fan. It lashed out toward the second one beside him and left cuts across his cheek. He brought the fan up to his chest as if to indicate that anymore and he'd use it seriously. They apparently didn't get it. The second moved to grab Ichigo's hand but Ichigo slipped the grab, turning his hand over the top and stabbing down into his forearm with the fan's points. Ichigo snapped it closed, cutting through the flesh as the spring popped it through the flesh. The guy screamed and jumped back, blood flying from his arm. Ichigo stepped back and flicked the fan open and lowered it at the first guy.

"Dammit to hell, Ichigo!" he heard and saw Renji dropping out of a Shunpo. He sighed. "Where were you? I came to see where you were and you were gone!"

Ichigo held up the bags and blinked owlishly at Renji. Renji glanced at the two other Shinigami. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"Nothing, he attacked me!" the one that was bleeding said.

"Nonsense. I felt his reiatsu spike, you were hassling him. Now you go get tended at the fourth, and you, get back to your division," Renji muttered, grabbing the two bags from Ichigo and then taking his left hand.

Ichigo wanted to tell him he didn't want him to get involved, that he had it handled, but he hadn't the voice to do it. And to be honest, he was starting to feel drained by everything. They got back to the house and Ichigo put away everything. He didn't have the energy to try cooking something yet. Instead he went and flopped on the futon near Adel and Chad.

"Ichigo, how are you?" Adel's tablet asked.

Ichigo frowned and reached for it. Adel handed it to him. "I'm so tired of not being able to speak. And everyone is too worried over me. I'm fine."

Adel sighed and shook his head as he took the tablet back. "Ichigo, can I tell you a story?"

Ichigo nodded. Adel sighed.

"I want to tell you about this," he said as he pulled the silken neck corset off to reveal the jagged scar. "It is a story about several things, and I think that before we start your learning to sign and other ways to deal with your voice, it is important for you to understand why I am helping."

Adel paused for a long moment. "When I was a child, my father had a brother that was very much the black sheep, but in a terrible way. He suffered from anger problems, and a complete absence of impulse control. He got into lots of trouble. He tried to choke one of his cousins when he was about ten. At twelve, he set the clothes on a line to fire to 'watch it burn'. Of course, like any caring family, he went into a long-term care residential facility. It was for the best," Adel paused again before his fingers flew over the surface of the tablet again. "When I was twelve, the incident that left me like this occurred. My sister was sixteen at the time. Our uncle had been out in the real world for a few years now, but he was obviously not well.

"So we were staying with family while they were gone. We went to the basement; I can't remember for what now. But our uncle was sitting on the floor seemingly chewing on his arm. It was strange, but we were all used to the random odd behaviors. His medications seemed to take care of most of them. I am not sure, but I believe he suffered from some form of Schizophrenia or anti-social disorder of some sort. I don't think of him much, though." Adel took a long breath.

"Ranya, my sister, was walking by when he grabbed her, whispering that he was tired of her teasing, that she'd been teasing him with her body since she was six years old. She screamed of course, and I tried to grab him to pull him off her. I could hear my parents coming to see what happened, but he grabbed a big knife off the shelf nearby and slashed out with it. I nearly bled to death, and they could save my voice, the damage was just too severe. They took my uncle off and he was locked up. He is still there because when asked, he claimed that my sister teased and tempted him with her dress. He told the court that all victims of sexual assault were to blame and deserved it for being weak, even babies, elderly, and animals. His twisted view was dangerous and it was lucky that neither me or my sister died that day."

Ichigo sat in rapt attention. Adel sighed. "He didn't know why everyone was angry. It was…sad. My sister, though, still blames herself. She feels she failed as a big sister, and people don't understand why she is so bothered by it. She's been told, 'it isn't like he really raped you'. And 'you both survived'. That isn't the point, though. She saw what happened to me, and she was traumatized by it, as was I. I learned to cope with it, and accept it. She, however, still struggles to accept it."

Adel stopped again, picking up his teacup and sipping it for a moment. He put it down. "Now, the reason I tell you this is because both you and Uryū are in this situation. You both deny each other's trauma, and it will be your undoing if you continue," he said with a smile.

Ichigo nodded and looked at him. Adel tapped into the tablet again. "Now, how about we start learning signs?"

Ichigo nodded, sitting up and listening to Adel's instruction.


End file.
